Try Again: An Ex-Con’s Path from Prison to Prosperity

Fans of redemption stories will love this brutally honest personal account of a climb from failure to fortune.

Nick Marshall was not exactly your average twenty-one-year-old from New Jersey. After serving three years in prison for armed robbery, he was still fairly young upon his release, but wondered what kind of life he could lead as an ex-con. As he soon came to find, life on parole had its limits, but he was fortunate enough to have a salaried job, a roof over his head, and a car. Yet something still tugged at him: his yearning to be an artist. Aware of the immense time and effort it would take to fulfill such a dream, he gave up his safety net and took his place at the bottom of the totem pole in the hospitality industry.

What Nick did not expect was for a series of jobs in bars and restaurants to catapult him into the exciting yet treacherous world of New York City nightlife. By connecting with all of the right movers, shakers, gatekeepers, and the like, he began to blaze a new trail. Before he knew it, he was a power player who had it all--or so he thought. He began to question if trips to Saint-Tropez, infinite freebies, and celebrity-like treatment were enough to let the dream that started it all take a backseat. Yet again, he found himself ready to make a major sacrifice.

Try Again: An Ex-Con’s Path from Prison to Prosperity is the inspirational story of one man’s climb back into society as the woes of post-prison life kept kicking him down. It is a recount of the lessons he learned--how being blinded by the limelight cost him everything he worked so hard for, as well as his mental health and stability. Try Again won’t just speak to the formerly incarcerated; it is for anyone looking to start anew when it feels utterly impossible. This must read is proof that sometimes reckless mistakes are the ones that can change our lives indefinitely.

Nick Marshall is a NYC-based writer, actor, director, and producer. He studied acting at the William Esper Studio where he met Amy Schumer and Kevin Kane. Upon graduating they formed The Collective NY, a not-for-profit theater and film company under which Marshall has developed numerous productions for the screen and stage. While trying to make his dreams of being an artist a reality, he chose to work in hospitality, but quickly found himself out of the bar and restaurant world and thrust into the limelight of nightlife. Under the training of power players like Noah Tepperberg, Scott Sartiano, and Richie Akiva, Marshall was an intricate factor in the openings of some of NYC’s hottest clubs including 1Oak, The Darby, Up&Down, and Avenue. He finished his nightlife career as a brand ambassador for the Butter Group, traveling across the world coordinating pop-ups and events, including Leonardo DiCaprio’s annual fundraising gala in Saint-Tropez. He is currently in pre-production for his first directorial feature, A Long Road, based on his experience as an ex-convict trying to reintegrate into society, as well as a scripted series based on his experience in a New Jersey State Prison in talks with Apple. Try Again (Viva Editions, 2025) is his first book.