A real life struggle of addiction and codependency. While a son battles substance use, a mother desperately learns to let go. You will be shocked and entertained as you read of their separate journeys to freedom.

"how wrong, how twisted, how ill-fated it should be that you were the one to bring out my poetry." A collection of poetry written by Kara Petrovic, a 21 year old who struggles with PTSD, and her diagnoses between Bipolar II Disorder and Borderline Personality. These poems give a look into the heartbreak, anguish, and ultimately, acceptance that comes to those afflicted with Mental Illness. Spanning across three years, they are an anthology of her relationships -- with those who loved her, those who did not, those whom she loved and the way she tried to love herself.

In her familiar style, Pamela Des Barres shines light on the people whose art remains the background music to our popular culture.

When Michael Cooley returned to his childhood home in St. Louis, many of his old friends offered him this greeting: 'Cooley, I thought you were dead.' And by many accounts, he should have been dead. Michael Cooley was a member of two dysfunctional families. His mother in St. Louis was an alcoholic. His stepmother and stepbrothers in Gainesville, Texas, abused him relentlessly—both physically and verbally. As a child, Mike bounced from school to school and from city to city. As a teenager, he turned to gangs and drugs for a sense of acceptance. Eventually, he ended up homeless, sleeping on rooftops and in alleys, and living out of his car. But after living as an abused child, a homeless and drug-addicted teenager, and a completely lost young adult, Mike decided to start over as a different person. Rock Bottom—From the Streets to Success tells Mike's story from his childhood in the 1960s until today. Mike escapes the darkness of his past and eventually puts his life back together to become a success in business and in his personal life. Follow Mike as he overcomes the hardships of his childhood and shares his experiences in hopes of helping others who may be facing their own challenges.

Once, the Blood Orphans had it all: a million-dollar recording contract from Warner Brothers, killer hooks, and cheekbones that could cut glass. Four pretty boys from Los Angeles, they were supposed to be the next big thing, future kings of rock and roll. But something happened on the way to glory, and now, two years later, along with their coke-fueled, mohawked female manager, they have washed up in Amsterdam for the final show of their doomed and dismal European tour. The singer has become a born-again Buddhist who preaches from the stage, the bass player's raging eczema has turned his hands into a pulpy mess, the drummer is a sex-fiend tormented by the misdeeds of his porn-king father, and the guitar player -- the only talented one -- is thoroughly cowed by the constant abuse of his bandmates. As they stumble through their final day together, the Blood Orphans find themselves on a comic tour of frustration, danger, excitement, and just possibly, redemption.

I had found my rock bottom, and instead of pulling me out, the God of the universe met me there in the rubble. What is your response when your life turns upside down? When you lose your job? When you receive a difficult diagnosis? Do you blame God or beg Him for a way out of your suffering? In more than a decade of misdiagnoses and debilitating treatments, Stephanie Tait admits she did plenty of both before hearing the two words that had drastically altered her life: Lyme disease. Yet she has discovered it’s in her pain that Jesus is most present. Through personal stories and biblical examples, you will learn that suffering connects you to God as He meets you in your moment of pain strengthens your community when you allow others to comfort you in your sorrow gives you greater appreciation for life’s goodness as you gain an eternal perspective Even if the healing never comes, there is something sacred in the suffering. It’s from holy rubble that God makes all things new.

The most innovative leaders in progressive addiction treatment in the US offer a groundbreaking, science-based guide to helping loved ones overcome addiction problems and compulsive behaviors. The most innovative leaders in progressive addiction treatment in the US offer a groundbreaking, science-based guide to helping loved ones overcome addiction problems and compulsive behaviors. Beyond Addiction eschews the theatrics of interventions and tough love to show family and friends how they can use kindness, positive reinforcement, and motivational and behavioral strategies to help their loved ones change. Drawing on forty collective years of research and decades of clinical experience, the authors present the best practical advice science has to offer. Delivered with warmth, optimism, and humor, Beyond Addiction defines a new, empowered role for friends and family and a paradigm shift for the field. Learn how to tap the transformative power of relationships for positive change, guided by exercises and examples. Practice what really works in therapy and in everyday life, and discover many different treatment options along with tips for navigating the system. And have hope: this guide is designed not only to help someone change, but to help someone want to change.

Reveals proven solutions for bettering the lives of people with serious mental illness, their families, and their communities. Leading scientist and gifted storyteller Rachel A. Pruchno, PhD, was shocked to encounter misinformation, ignorance, and intolerance when she sought to help her daughter, newly diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Turning to the scientific literature, Dr. Pruchno eventually found solutions, but she realized many others would need help to understand the highly technical writing and conflicting findings. In Beyond Madness—part memoir, part history, and part empathetic guide—Dr. Pruchno draws on her decades as a mental health professional, her own family's experiences with mental illness, and extensive interviews with people with serious mental illness to discuss how individuals live with these illnesses, including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and major depression. The book • presents real-world vignettes that vividly describe what it is like to experience some of the most troubling symptoms of a severe mental illness • offers practical advice for how individuals, family members, and communities can help people with a serious mental illness • explains how people with mental illness can find competent health care providers, identify treatment regimens, overcome obstacles to treatment, cope with stigma, and make decisions • provides insight into programs, such as Crisis Intervention Training, that can help people undergoing mental health crisis avoid jail and get the treatment they need • takes aim at the popular concept of "rock bottom" and reveals why this is such a harmful and simplistic approach • advocates for evidence-based care • documents examples of communities that have embraced successful strategies for promoting recovery • shows that people with serious mental illnesses can live productive lives Meticulously researched and engagingly written, Beyond Madness is a call to action and a promise of hope for everyone who cares about and interacts with the millions of people who have serious mental illness. Family members, friends, teachers, police, primary care doctors, and clergy—people who recognize that something is wrong but don't know how to help—will find the book's practical advice invaluable.

What is Beyond Beauty? The author’s ambition is to persuade all women, but especially younger women, to reach beyond goals of to realize the power of our inner beauty to overcome the limits society places on us. Gen-Y women face a terrible predicament of maturing in a world where media bombards us with information and images that distort our perception of the meaning of beauty, self-confidence, and self-love. If we misunderstand our reality, we can easily turn to outmoded cultural paradigms that convince us that we must behave like men to be valuable to society, or that our hair or waistline determines our success, or that finding the right man is the key to happiness. As a millennial, Ms. Abrego believes modern women must learn to look beyond their physical selves and search for a deeper purpose for life and existence. She aims to take us on a journey of self-awakening to become our best self and unleash our feminine power to follow our dreams of a good life. Beyond Beauty is designed to facilitate and encourage women of this generation to improve every aspect of their lives, starting with their own selves. The message of Beyond Beauty is needed more than ever. The author can inspire and empower the women of Generation Y to want more, to be more, and live “beyond beauty.”

Beyond this Darkness is a brand new faith-based recovery program. It is not based on 12 steps, though it takes the best of 12-step wisdom and updates it by adding some of the best things that have been tried in addiction therapy since the 1930s. Addiction therapy has moved on a long way since Bill Wilson and his brilliant book. This book seeks to harness these newer insights and wrap them up within a framework that is inspired by some of the most intriguing and liberating insights of the Apostle Paul. All the way through the reader is encouraged by the voices of addicts that have overcome their habit. There is story after story of victory over the most hopeless cases of alcohol, drug, gambling, and porn addiction--and even one case of chocolate chip cookie addiction! In every case, the program tries to identify what has worked and point the way for the reader to shake themselves free of their darkness.