In the Shadow of Many: Recovery from the Family Secrets We Keep (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798349659133)

This book addresses multiple issues in recovery from addiction, childhood trauma, and family dysfunction in the form of a memoir that ends with hope and a return to wholeness. The author says:

There's always a point when someone in your family ends up with all the family dirt, all the secrets that funnel down through generations. In my family, the day came when that person was me. But I didn't want to keep secrets anymore; they were a poison that was eating me from the inside out.

Studies show that children who have experienced the kind of severe abuse that I did develop "toxic stress" that damages their developing brains. The result of what I went through was that I could not see beauty or enjoy life. But even a person with a life as broken as mine can move past hopelessness. Past a life of darkness to a life of beauty and happiness. Into a life of extraordinary faith and profound spiritual growth.

This is my tale of a steady descent into hell and the effort it took to climb out, about the pile of garbage I inherited that came to rest on my shoulders, and how I overcame the resulting addictions to go on to live a functional life, find peace, and develop a life worth living.

Once my head cleared from the drugs and alcohol, getting healthy was like putting together a puzzle; the more I worked at it, the more the whole picture emerged. And I was willing to work at it. Yet there were no quick fixes in recovery. If you have experienced something that puts you in the hospital, you have to stay until you recover. You can't just brush yourself off and move on; you have to pause and recover.

There's a saying that "We change when our last resort seems like a good idea." But change I did, because if I didn't, I was going to die, one way or another.

I want to help people make themselves whole again. It's not for me to tell you what direction to take, but rather to give you tools to point you in the right direction. Whatever your situation, I hope you find something in these pages that gives you inspiration. I want to shed our shared sickness and put an end to the shame and guilt of yet another dysfunctional generation.

A better life awaits anyone who wants it. The good news is that if I can do it, anybody can. Linda W.