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

Kristina Wandzilak (Author), Constance Curry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2006

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Lost Years is one of the most important books on family addiction and recovery that I have come across in years. It allows the readers a rare, simultaneous look into the hearts and minds of both the co-dependent and the addict. Kristina and her mother take us through the suffering, turmoil and destruction of addiction right on through to forgiveness, reconciliation and redemption. This book is invaluable to families, and I am proud to recommend The Lost Years." -- John Bradshaw, best-selling author of Healing the Shame That Binds You and Homecoming: Reclaiming and Championing Your Inner Child, and one of the leading authorities on co-dependency and family recovery

"This is the most important book I have read this year. I couldn't put it down." -- Anne Lamott, best-selling author of Grace (Eventually), Operating Instructions, Bird by Bird, Traveling Mercies, Rosie, All New People, and Blue Shoe

This book touches on both sides of addiction the side of the addict and that of the enabler. -- Cheri and Pat Summerall, former American football player and legendary sportscaster, and his wife

This is a powerful and amazing book. I could not put it down. -- Michael Pritchard, PBS host and child advocate

This is the most extraordinary memoir I have ever read. -- Stephanie Brown, Ph.D., psychologist and author

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Jeffers Press (September 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0977761819
• ISBN-13: 978-0977761814
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (114 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,078 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #38 in Books > Parenting & Relationships > Family Relationships > Dysfunctional Relationships
  • #56 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Recovery > Alcoholism
  • #64 in Books > Parenting & Relationships > Family Relationships > Motherhood

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read for Every Parent, September 24, 2006

By 

T. Chenery "Trevor Chenery" (Chalfont St Giles, England) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Lost Years: Surviving a Mother and Daughter's Worst Nightmare (Paperback)

A must-read for every parent

Of all the addiction memoirs that I have read in the last two years this is one that goes straight to the heart of the matter. Genuine, honest, accessible and heart-breaking are just a few of the words that I would use to describe this powerful book.

Written as a joint account of the lives of a mother and daughter during the troubled times of the daughter's addiction and recovery, it is the mother's side of the story that turns out to be the more poignant since she had it all, then lost it, and ultimately had to find her own way out of the mess that her life was in. She took courageous steps to protect her other children from the damage that her addicted daughter could inflict on her family, the most devastating of which was, time and again, to turn the addict away from her door until her daughter learned she had no choice but to be rehabilitated. Very few loving parents can do this and then command the compassion to restore a beautiful relationship with such a prodigal child.

It must be rare too that an addict who has been so near to death as she had been from the serious diseases of alcohol and drug addiction should later become so unselfishly involved in helping others suffering. To live with the daughter, as one does in the later pages of this book, whilst she struggles through the recovery process and begins the struggle to re-connect with her family is a testament to the hope that exists and lives within all of us. It is the hope born of a belief that we can change our lives from the worst to the very best and it proves once again that where there is love there is life and where there is life there is always hope.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Owners Manual for Understanding and Treating Alcoholism & Addiction., September 21, 2006

By 

Larry Fritzlan (Mill Valley, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Lost Years: Surviving a Mother and Daughter's Worst Nightmare (Paperback)

This is the book I have been waiting for! This is the Owner's Manual for anyone affected by this family disease. So often family members want someone else to change! Bravo Constance! You sought help, put the focus on yourself, set clear boundaries and clear consequences and your family got well. This book is a gift to all parents in a BIG way. Bravo Kristina! You followed your treatment recommendations and got well too. Your book is now mandatory reading for all the teens and all the parents in my teen drug treatment program as well as my graduate students in Counseling Psychology. I predict very big changes as a result of this book. Thank you!

Larry Fritzlan, LMFT - Director, Adolescent Recovery Services.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Relating to the Lost Years, October 31, 2006

By 

Susan Douma (Calimesa, Ca USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Lost Years: Surviving a Mother and Daughter's Worst Nightmare (Paperback)

This book is well written, easy to read and almost impossible to put down. The subject matter relates to almost all of us. Who among us has not had such an experience or know someone who has, or is going through a similiar situation? I have a better understanding about how this happens and have been given hope that it does not always end in a negative manner.