Without Shame: The Addict's Mom and Her Family Share Their Stories of Pain and Healing

(Paperback)

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Barbara Theodosiou and her family reveal the pain, loss, and connection that emerge from addiction, trauma, codependency, and recovery in this unique view into the heart of a national crisis.

The ringing phone startles Barbara during another sleepless night. She knows it must be Daniel, her big-hearted, intelligent son who has spent years cycling through hospitals, jails, and treatment centers. Although Daniels childhood struggles started much earlier, he was sixteen when Barbara discovered he was horribly addicted to DXM, the drug found in many over-the-counter cough medicines. After picking up the pieces from one more of her sons relapses, Barbara seeks support in the online refuge she created when she had nowhere else to turn: The Addicts Mom. There, she can Share Without Shame with others who understand. These other mothers know that it can become normal to hope your son will be locked up so he isnt sleeping on the street. These other moms understand how it feels to realize you have not just one addicted child but two--Barbara discovered her oldest son Peters addiction just six months after Daniels. And when that happens, sometimes all a mother can do is try to save herself.

But this isnt just a mothers story. Without Shame encompasses Daniels own poetry and prose, Peters story of healing against all odds, their sister Nicoles story of balancing compassion and independence, and other often unheard voices. This multifaceted story reveals what it truly means to describe addiction as a family disease.

Reviews

In the pages of Without Shame, Barbara Theodosiou stitches together her familys stories of pain and healinga patchwork of scars and mending hearts. Sharing patterns and perspectives, thoughts and feelings, her words wrap like an old quilt around the shoulders of other moms with addicted children, with the powerful warmth of truth and strength. -- Sandy Swenson, author of Tending Dandelions and The Joey Song
Barbara Theodosiou pens a poignant memoir of her beloved son, Daniel, and his downward spiral into addiction. Theodosiou writes honestly about the roller-coaster of emotions that go along with being The Addicts Mom. Without Shame takes us behind closed doors, allowing us to see, feel, and experience the devastating impact that substance use disorders have on the entire family. -- Lorelie Rozzano, author of Jagged Little Edges, Jagged Little Lies, and Jagged No More
Without Shame paints a unique, often heartbreaking picture of how a childs addiction affects an entire family. Centered on Barbara Theodosious anguished eight-year struggle to save her son Daniel from addiction, the narrative also brings in the voices of Daniels siblings and stepfather, who share the pain, frustration, and resentment they all experienced during those difficult years. We also hear from Daniel himself, who reveals his inner turmoil through the poems and letters he left behind. Like Theodosious organization, The Addicts Mom, this book will be a source of insight, comfort, and support for anyone impacted by a loved ones addiction, assuring readers that they are not alone. Although a tragic tale thats all too familiar in todays America, Without Shame is ultimately a story of a familys love and the long path to healing. -- Beverly Conyers, author of Addict in the Family and Everything Changes
Millions of mothers struggle silently with an addicted son or daughter. In Without Shame, a candid account of the impact of addiction, Barbara pierces both silence and shame, and helps mothers know where to turn. -- DAnne Burwell, author of Saving Jake: When Addiction Hits Home
The heartbreakingly familiar story of the devastation of addiction told by the pioneer of online family support. -- Maureen Cavanagh, author of If You Love Me: A Mothers Journey Through Her Daughters Addiction and Recovery
I am so grateful for Barbaras courage to begin The Addicts Mom (TAM) and to share her story. TAM was the first support group I ever encountered, and I remember staying up for hours enthralled with reading because I couldnt believe so many were like me. It brought me the strength of a sisterhood with people I had never met, yet connected with on a level no one can understand, unless you have been in our shoes. A few years later, I also began to share my own journey publicly, and I dont think I could have done that without being able to share without shame in TAM. Thank you, Barbara, for being a change maker in a world afraid of change. -- Katie Donovan, Founder and CEO of A Mothers Addiction Journey
I first met Barbara eleven years ago when our loved ones were in treatment together. Over the years, I watched her courageously teach an entire society that there is no shame in having a child with a substance use disorder or mental health issues. Barbaras generosity and compassion have resulted in an internet following of over one-hundred thousand moms with children lost to addiction, still struggling, or recovered. She was always ahead of the curve when it came to understanding that addictions stigma must go. Her willingness to be honest at great personal sacrifice in a culture of shame will always be remembered, appreciated and admired. -- Beverly Buncher, founder and CEO of the BALM Training Institute for Family Recovery Services and author of BALM: The Loving Path to Family Recovery

Author Bio

Barbara Theodosiou is a mother, activist, and the founder of The Addicts Mom, an online community where tens of thousands of mothers with addicted children can Share Without Shame. Barbara has been widely recognized for her work as a family recovery advocate, including the receipt of a White House Champion of Change award in 2016.