Bio

I was born in Covington, KY, to Pete and Kaye Doughtie in 1965 and have three brothers, Keith, Lee and Jay. The family moved to southern California by the time I was 4, where we remained until 1981.   I attended El Camino high school in Oceanside before my dad relocated to Santa Maria, CA, then attending and graduating from Righetti High School. After graduation, my family moved to Bishop, but I stayed behind working at a department store while attempting to put myself through college. After one semester, I decided to move to Bishop with my family and soon after I joined the Army in 1984 serving as a military police officer. After basic training and school, I was stationed in Hanau, Frankfurt and Wildflecken Germany for two years, then Northern California.

After being honorably discharged in 1987, I went to work for my father selling advertising for a newspaper in Ridgecrest and Mammoth Lakes, CA where I became general manager until 1991.   Lee and I had been writing songs and playing as a duo and in January, 1991, we decided to move to Nashville, TN to pursue a music career, one of our highlights being the opening act for Bailee and the Boys in 1995. Several years later after chasing a dream,  I settled down and focused on my small construction company where I built decks, fences and other outdoor structures.

Tyler Doughtie, my son and inspiration for writing the film, Letters to God, was born September 23, 1995. At age 3, he began playing soccer, which soon became the love of his life. Tyler had a natural instinct for the game. He was also involved in cub scouts and later, AWANA.   In 2003, Tyler was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive brain tumor called Medulloblastoma. He underwent surgery at LeBonheur Children’s hospital in Memphis, TN then transferred to St Jude Children’s Research where he underwent 30 radiation treatments and four months/rounds of high dose chemotherapy. He was placed loosley in remission in September 2003.  Nine months later, in June of 2004, Tyler was re-diagnosed with Leptomeningeal disease, basically a side effect of the treatments. Nine months later, Tyler passed away on March 7, 2005.

Tyler was an inspiration to all those he came in contact with, I was no exception. His positive attitude and smile were enough to win people over. His undeniable love for God was a testament and witness for Christ. Nine months after Tyler passed away, I was diagnosed with CLL (Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia).   After witnessing Tyler’s brave bout with cancer, there was no way I could complain about my diagnosis. Tyler was my hero and I feel as though he was my letter from God and that his message to the world was love, faith, hope and that there is more to life than just work and bills and money... it's about family and our eternal life with Christ. The hope that I have is what helps me to continue on and to be the messenger for Tyler and God.

Once Tyler passed, I decided to write a book, but hadn’t the faintest idea of what I was doing or where to start.  I asked God if that’s what I was supposed to do that I needed guidance. Two days later, at 9 PM, an old friend I hadn’t seen in a while knocked on my door, apologetically, she handed me a book and stated that God had led her to bring the book to me. The title of the book was, "Walking Taylor Home."  It was written by a father about his son's bout with leukemia. God had answered my prayer. I began writing on the book but soon became overwhelmed with depression. During this time, I decided a book would take me too long so I took a screenwriting course and read the Screenwriters Bible. Two weeks into the course, I had completed my first script.  That began my screenwriting career.  Almost a year after losing Ty, I began writing Letters to God.  I had interest from a production company before I could finish the script.   That particular company didn’t work out, but God continued opening doors making it probably the easiest thing I’ve accomplished in my life and I am thankful!

In no time, God took me from carpenter to screenwriter, director and author.  Typical script to screen in Hollywood takes 7-10 years, God did it with letters to God in 3!  Letters to God, the novel and children's book was released February 2010.  The film was released April 9th, 2010, in 900 theaters nationwide.

I have another son, Brendan (7), who appeared in the film as Brady's son and am thankful for every day I get to spend with him!