No One Visits the Mother of a Drug Addict


Book Description

This autobiographical story recounts the author's experiences enduring her only son's drug addiction and the physical, emotional and spiritual turmoil the addiction was on her and the family. Readers are given a firsthand viewpoint on witnessing drug addiction take over a person's life, straight from her eyes. She not only accounts the heartbreak of seeing her son's tangle with drugs, but also shares how no one knew how, or were sometimes willing, to help the family remain strong in God at that time. Healing did come, and is still coming, through God's grace and redemption. Nancy Chalmers hopes her story will bring hope and encouragement to many families dealing with this epidemic and other life altering issues. A portion of the proceeds from this book will provide scholarships to those needing to enter the wonderful healing program of Teen Challenge. I will never be able to repay their impact on my Son, Andrew Chalmers. But I can help another family experience the miracle of the transformed life of a loved one. Go to www.teenchallengeusa.org for more information.




Addiction


Book Description

Addiction: A Mother's Story follows the 23 year heroin and cocaine addiction of her deeply loved son through the eyes of his mother. It includes stories of all the various "players" that make up the world of drug use and the dramatic consequences of drug addiction within a family.




Clean


Book Description

The author of the #1 "New York Times"-bestseller "Beautiful Boy" offers a new paradigm for dealing with addiction based on cutting-edge research and stories of his own and other families' struggles with--and triumphs over--drug abuse.




Chasing the Scream


Book Description

The New York Times Bestseller What if everything you think you know about addiction is wrong? Johann Hari's journey into the heart of the war on drugs led him to ask this question--and to write the book that gave rise to his viral TED talk, viewed more than 62 million times, and inspired the feature film The United States vs. Billie Holiday and the documentary series The Fix. One of Johann Hari's earliest memories is of trying to wake up one of his relatives and not being able to. As he grew older, he realized he had addiction in his family. Confused, not knowing what to do, he set out and traveled over 30,000 miles over three years to discover what really causes addiction--and what really solves it. He uncovered a range of remarkable human stories--of how the war on drugs began with Billie Holiday, the great jazz singer, being stalked and killed by a racist policeman; of the scientist who discovered the surprising key to addiction; and of the countries that ended their own war on drugs--with extraordinary results. Chasing the Scream is the story of a life-changing journey that transformed the addiction debate internationally--and showed the world that the opposite of addiction is connection.




A Prayer for Orion


Book Description

When Katherine James and her husband found out their son was using heroin, they struggled to come to grips with this surprising reality. In this sensitive, vulnerable memoir, award-winning novelist James tells her family's story through her son's addiction, overdose, and slow recovery. Not simply a look at drug abuse in suburban America, this story is also a meditation on loving a wayward child and trusting in God's providence through it all.




Mum, Can You Lend Me Twenty Quid?


Book Description

i newspaper 'What We're Reading This Week' December 2017 'Elizabeth's courage in speaking out is moving, and her ability to move others is impressive. This is a story that needs to be told, and needs to be heard.' - Theresa May, Prime Minister 'Elizabeth [is] someone who had the courage to tell her family's story and to challenge attitudes. Elizabeth has already made a difference and I am sure that all those who read this book will be both challenged and inspired.' - Chief Constable Sara Thornton, National Police Chiefs' Council 'I cannot praise this book highly enough . . . Born out of personal pain and tragedy, this story will lead you to the birth of DrugFAM . . . It is truly inspiring and wonderful what has been and continues to be achieved through this story.' - Sir Anthony Seldon, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Buckingham 'I would urge all parents, teachers and pupils to read this heart-rending book.' - FT Magazine 'A book that is moving and ultimately, inspiring.' - Waterstones Books Quarterly Elizabeth Burton Phillips was a teacher, an ordinary mother who had always tried to do the best for her children; she never imagined that her identical twin sons, who had been doing so well at school, would become involved in drugs. She was shocked when they were suspended from school for smoking cannabis; but this was just the start of a terrible descent into personal and family heartbreak. The painful journey ended in the way Elizabeth had always dreaded - a knock on the door in the middle of the night by the police. They gave her the devastating news that her son Nick had killed himself in despair at his heroin addiction. Since his death, Elizabeth has campaigned tirelessly to make parents aware of the pain and suffering caused to families by drug addiction; and her surviving twin, Simon, now drug-free, has contributed his own thoughts to this inspiring and gut-wrenching story that will shake every reader to the core. This new edition brings Elizabeth's story up to date, sharing the inspiring achievements of the author - awarded an MBE in the Queen's 2017 Honours List - and her charity DrugFAM, giving hope to families impacted by addiction.




Why Don't They JUST QUIT?


Book Description

Updated Edition! Contains new chapters and info on: Heroin, Shame & Stigma, Harm Reduction, Marijuana, Synthetic Drugs, 12-Step Groups & The Church, and much more! Real-life solutions to help you now! Watching a loved one immersed in an intense battle with alcohol and drug abuse may be the most difficult, complex and harrowing experience you'll ever have. This book offers a message of hope to families and friends, giving practical solutions so they can help anyone struggling with addiction to begin the road to recovery. You'll discover: -Why a person doesn't have to hit rock-bottom before getting help. -When helping is actually hurting. -Why quitting is not the same as recovering. -How to deal with a relapse. -The importance of faith and hope in recovery. -Why a parent would leave their child due to their addiction. -How to effectively intervene. Answers to over 30 common, and not so common questions. Inspiring first-hand recovery stories from real people! Praise for Why Don't They Just Quit? This book is a must read. . . I consider Why Don't They Just Quit? to be one of the top five recovery books for families. --Nicholas Taylor, Ph.D., Licensed Clinical Psychologist, National Expert on the Treatment of Methamphetamine Addiction Everyone needs to read this book. After 25yrs of drinking it has saved my life. --Craig M., New Philadelphia, Ohio God bless you. Al-Anon and AA are a Godsend, but I have found other books to be very general and a little outdated with today’s times. Joe’s book has answered so many questions for me that I can relate to and put into practice. --D.B., Lakewood, Colorado . . . stayed up late last night reading various parts of it; inspiring! This book is for people like me; someone with chemically addicted people in their life-- a must read for the addicted and those who care about them. --Donna Schwartz, MFT, CAC III Valley Hope Treatment Services in Colorado, former Family Program Therapist of Parker Valley Hope Treatment Center This book was a Godsend! I have struggled as a parent of an addict for years, and now I am finally able to see that it is not in my ability to heal him! This book was life changing, LIFE CHANGING! I can now begin to recover myself, even if my child doesn't! Thank you Joe, for writing this book! --Shelley K. (parent) Joe's book helps us to understand the addiction and recovery process. He combines a lifetime of personal and professional experience dealing with this issue in a practical and highly personal overview. The book is excellent. I wish I had read it a year ago. --Sheriff Joe Pelle, Boulder County, Colorado As a Mother, I found this book to be full of empathy, tough-love and practical information. I especially appreciate that Joe included the spiritual part of recovery, which other resources often avoid. --Vicki Beatty, Celebrate Recovery Leader/Covenant Chapel, Leawood, Kansas This book will be valued by many, many people. A very meaningful gift of God's grace to families who need sanity in the middle of their runaway insanity. --Mike Richards Jr., Director of Recovery Ministries/International Bible Society, Houston, Texas Many of you reading this book are facing the battle of your life. Alcohol and drugs consumed my daughter's life. I can't put into words the anguish of attending my daughter's funeral. I wish I would have had this book long ago. Maybe Mia would still be here. I didn't know how to help her. This book is full of answers I could have used. --Pam M. (Mia's Mom), Niwot, Colorado




Go Ask Alice


Book Description

A teen plunges into a downward spiral of addiction in this classic cautionary tale. January 24th After you’ve had it, there isn't even life without drugs… It started when she was served a soft drink laced with LSD in a dangerous party game. Within months, she was hooked, trapped in a downward spiral that took her from her comfortable home and loving family to the mean streets of an unforgiving city. It was a journey that would rob her of her innocence, her youth—and ultimately her life. Read her diary. Enter her world. You will never forget her. For thirty-five years, the acclaimed, bestselling first-person account of a teenage girl’s harrowing decent into the nightmarish world of drugs has left an indelible mark on generations of teen readers. As powerful—and as timely—today as ever, Go Ask Alice remains the definitive book on the horrors of addiction.




No More Letting Go


Book Description

“Detachment” has been the standard message of most addiction literature for the last twenty years. The conventional wisdom offered to an addict’s loved ones has been to let the addict “hit bottom” before intervening. Now intervention specialist Debra Jay challenges this belief and offers a bold new approach to treating addiction that provides a practical and spiritual lifeline to families struggling with alcohol or drug abuse. In No More Letting Go, Jay argues that the traditional advice of “letting go” too often destroys both the addict and the family physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Jay contends that addiction is everybody’s business–not just the addict’s–and addiction doesn’t have the right to trump the welfare of a family. In short, highly accessible chapters written with warmth, understanding, and compassion, Jay weaves together philosophical and religious thought; new science on the brain function of an addict; the physical and psychological impact of addiction on family members; and poignant, real-life family stories. No More Letting Go is a powerful, informative guide that provides comfort, hope, and practical advice to anyone affected by a family member’s addiction.




Beyond Rock Bottom


Book Description

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.