The following is an exclusive interview with Seaman Jeff Winters, bestselling author of The Only Easy Day Was the Day After BUD/S. I met Winters, who has been incessantly harried by various media outlets since his overnight fame, at a Starbucks in Coronado — just a few miles from the very heart of SEAL training.

For some, success is wrought through hard work, perseverance and a never-quit attitude. For Seaman Jeff Winters, success was met through underwhelming performance and complete and utter failure.

Winters' New York Times Bestseller was written shortly after his departure from Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training, and quickly joined the ranks of countless SEAL memoirs published over the past few years. James Frey, author of A Million Little Pieces, praised the book’s “keen and honest portrayal of the human spirit in the face of adversity” and “unfiltered documentation of the first hour of Navy SEAL training.”

"It's not easy being a BUD/S dud. I wanted to tug at the heartstrings of uninformed civilians who couldn't possibly fathom what I endured," Winters solemnly states while in line, waiting to order. "I was in a real dark place after I blew out my shoulder at the island. That's during Third Phase, in case you don't know. I came here every day from open 'til close for a week after BUD/S, pouring my soul into this book."