Terry Coleman's life didn't start off auspiciously. Abandoned by his mother and raised by his grandma and aunts, he reached adulthood with no sense of direction or purpose. Marriage and fatherhood did not halt his descent into alcoholism and despair. But, as he explains in Don't Give Up, Don't Give In, a chance invitation by a friend to attend church reawakened the religious leanings of Terry's childhood, and his resulting conversion turned his life in a new direction. Having been so blessed, Terry felt compelled to do something to benefit his fellow human beings. He decided to use his powerful singing voice to set a world's record for singing hymns, publicizing the marathon event to draw attention to the plight of Denver's homeless. In July 2005, Terry Coleman sang hymns for forty hours and seventeen minutes, establishing a world's record and earning him a spot in the Book of Alternative Records, Records Holders Republic, and Ripley's Believe it or Not®.