After nearly three decades of pursuing a dream, Porter discovered that what he thought he was building was also building him
ROCKWALL, TX (Nov. 3, 2026) — What if the dream you’ve spent years pursuing is doing more than leading you toward a destination? What if, along the way, it is shaping the person you are becoming?
That question lies at the heart of Consumed: The Dream Had Another Name, the debut memoir by Rockwall author and entrepreneur Russell Porter, scheduled for release November 10, 2026.
For several decades, Porter pursued what he believed was a dream connected to music. In 2004, he and his wife purchased a small music school with 125 students and began building what is known as the Rockwall School of Music, a thriving music education community serving nearly a 900 families each week.
But the deeper story of Consumed is not about building a music school.
It is about discovering what the dream was building in him.
“I spent years thinking I was building a dream,” Porter said. “It took me much longer to realize that the dream was also building me.”
Through stories spanning childhood, music, ministry, entrepreneurship, leadership, disappointment, perseverance, relationships and faith, Consumed follows Porter’s journey from a young boy who discovered the joy of performing for pennies to a business owner and leader who eventually began to see his life’s work through a different lens.
The realization changed the way Porter understood his own story.
“I once thought my calling was to build a music school,” Porter said. “Now I believe my calling has always been to open doors.”
That discovery also changed the way he understood the role of music in his life.
For years, music appeared to be the destination. Looking back, Porter came to believe that music was the vehicle through which something much deeper was taking place.
“The dream was never the story. The person was.”
That idea became central to the writing of Consumed, which explores how dreams can evolve, how unexpected detours can become formative seasons, and how the significance of a person’s life may ultimately be measured less by what they build than by the people they help along the way.
The book’s subtitle, The Dream Had Another Name, reflects the central revelation of Porter’s journey.
He thought he understood what his dream was.
He eventually discovered that he didn’t.
And that discovery leads to a question the book ultimately places in the hands of its readers:
What if your dream has another name?
Rather than presenting a formula for pursuing success, Consumed invites readers to look at their own stories and consider what may be happening beneath the surface of the dreams, disappointments, relationships and unexpected turns that have shaped their lives.
The book is Porter’s first published work.
About the Author
Russell Porter is the owner and visionary behind Rockwall School of Music in Rockwall, Texas. Since purchasing the school in 2004, he has spent more than two decades building a music education community centered not only on musical development, but also on helping people discover what they are capable of becoming.
A lifelong musician, educator, entrepreneur and leader, Porter has spent nearly decades pursuing a dream that ultimately became something much deeper.
Consumed: The Dream Had Another Name is his first book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HK597QQJ
Russell Porter, author of Consumed: The Dream Had Another Name
ORDER CONSUMED ON AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HK597QQJ
Submitted press release.
Rockwall author Russell Porter announces Consumed: The Dream Had Another Name, a memoir about the dream that changed its dreamer added by Editor on
View all posts by Editor →