=I wanted to bring you a new book which can be called a memoir or self- help book which you will see is called Incurable Hope: A Memoir and Survival Guide for Coping with a Loved One’s Addiction written by Lisa M. Gennosa. I was BLESSED = I received a physical copy of this book in exchange for this review.
I wish I could say as a mom I never had to deal with a child with addiction but that isn’t the case. E David’s mom had to deal with her son and his addiction and trying to get him into a recovery program. For those that didn’t know it David is a recovered Drug and Alcohol addict which David and his parents and even his ex-wife dealt with before I came along.
Although, I know David still struggles at times he hasn’t done drugs in over 20 years through the grace of the LORD but does drink once in a while. Then I go back to my childhood and my dad was a alcoholic and my sister, brother or I could have followed in his steps which we didn’t thank the LORD. Although, I did drink to much when Suzzie was killed but quickly nipped it in the bud.
Then my step-son ended up on drugs and what I didn’t know was he had started taking them when he was 12. Travis lived with his mom so I had no, clue he was doing drugs. Travis ended up breaking into a school which landed Travis in PRISON which I believe is what kept him alive and not over dosing or killing hmself because he is also Bi-Polar.
I wish I had known about Incurable Hope and rehabilitation facility when I started dating David and I would have knew how to deal with him better. As well as Travis. because Charlie is a teenager and most of his friends are drinking I made sure and shared Incurable Hope with Charlie because this book is a story of one Mother’s struggles with the terrifying reality that her beloved son is an addict.
Charlie and I both thought the story was heart wrenching and soul bearing and I shed a lot of tears reading the book. But I found so many useful resources for solutions and answers to questions about therapies, rehabilitation, and mental health sources available to the addicted and to the people that love them. Just incase someone Charlie or I know needs help which can happen at any time.
If you haven’t had the opportunity to read Incurable Hope I hope you do as soon as possible. I also hope schools and counselor offices keep this book on hand to not only share with parents but students. Charlie and I believe this book is not only for parents but children from middle school and up.
About:
When Your Life is Consumed by a Loved One with Addiction
Incurable Hope is a loving mother’s memoir of her only child’s disease of addiction and overcoming the multiple traumas he endured. This book examines how substance use disorder, mental health, and trauma can collide with the legal and medical systems. More importantly, it is a survival guide, a resource guide, and a desperately needed tour guide through the labyrinth of addiction.
Within the pages of Incurable Hope,this life-seasoned mother:
- Shares with others how to survive and recapture life when they have a loved one with addiction.
- Critically examines the criminalization of mental illness and substance use disorder, while providing ideas and solutions for change.
- Provides much-needed resources and education, by teaching the foreign language of addiction, to those searchingfor answers while providing guidance to effectively choose a rehabilitation facility.
- Makes us all think critically before we assign unnecessary assumptions, use derogatory language, or wrongfully criticize what we fail to understand.
- Dispels the myth that addiction is a moral failing and assigns the broader understanding of substance use disorder as a form of self-harm.
Let us work to find hope for ourselves and our loved ones so that we may all improve our approach to the ever-increasing need for human compassion and empathy in today’s world.
About the Author: Lisa M. Gennosa
Lisa M. Gennosa lives with her husband, Dr. Thomas Gennosa, MD, in a small, rural town in eastern North Carolina with her two favorite pups, Benjamin and Ted E. Bear. Her son remains the biggest gift in her life. She is a practicing Physician Assistant. She is a dedicated wife and mother who grew up the third child of a liquor and narcotics agent. Her breadth of exposure to healthcare, the legal field and parenting an addict provided the foundation to reveal the things we least like to talk about, but most need to.
She has done countless speaking engagements for police, parole and correctional officers, paramedics, nurses and other hospital staff as well as medical students in an effort to create positive change and provide them with the much-needed education on substance use disorder, mental health and crisis intervention. Lisa has dedicated her time to work with incarcerated men and women in an unprecedented heroin recovery program in North Carolina.
Her most valuable contribution for the book came from her son and his expansive understanding of emotional intelligence and the human condition. His battle with addiction, trauma and mental health forced her to delve into a world she didn’t want to accept. Yet, it gave her the profound opportunity to learn, to listen and to understand so that she may share that information with the hopes that someone else, not just survives, but thrives despite the pain they endure.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
