The Lost Years: Surviving a Mother and Daughter's Worst Nightmare

by Kristina Wandzilak, Constance Curry

Overview

A child caught in the horror of alcohol and drug addition. A mother helplessly standing by unable to save her. The Lost Years is the real life story of just such a mother and child, each giving their first-hand accounts of the years lost to addiction and despair. Kristina, the second of four children, tells how she turns to alcohol for comfort when she is thirteen. She gives a brutally honest description of her descent into addiction, prostitution, burglary and violent rape until her near death on the floor of a homeless shelter completely alone at the age of twenty-one. Adding a heart-wrenching counterpart to the story, Kristina's mother, Connie, tells of her powerlessness to help her addicted daughter, the break-up of her unhappy marriage and how she comes to terms with her own co-dependency. She is also faced with the worst choice a mother has to make, to close the door on Kristina, sending her onto the streets in order to save herself and protect her other children. Then follows the remarkable story of Kristina's recovery as she lives through rehab, her mother's tough love and the years of acclimating herself to living a normal life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780977761814
Publisher:	Jeffers Press
Publication date:	08/15/2006
Pages:	280
Sales rank:	534,352
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.04(h) x 0.82(d)

About the Author

Kristina Wandzilak, executive director and founder of Full Circle Intervention, is a nationally recognized interventionist, presenter, and author. She has worked in the field of chemical dependency since 1994 and is a certified drug and alcohol counselor and board-registered interventionist.

Constance Curry has been in codependency recovery for many years. She has studied and tried to understand the disorder that took over her life and the lives of those she loved most. Constance has appeared on various educational speaker panels to discuss the intricate subject of addiction and family recovery.

Donna Postel is fascinated by all kinds of stories and loves telling them. From memoir and biography to literary fiction, romance, mystery, and suspense, Donna uses her innate curiosity, talent, and decades of experience on stage and in the recording studio to bring books to life.

Hillary Huber is a multiple Audie Award finalist, an AudioFile Earphones Award winner, and an AudioFile Best Voice. She has recorded over 550 titles, spanning many genres.

Editorial Reviews

"This book is invaluable to families, and I am proud to recommend The Lost Years." ---John Bradshaw, bestselling author of Healing the Shame That Binds You

From the Publisher