Customer Reviews

Loved Back to Life

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Loved Back to Life" is a powerful, fascinating examination about the harsh realities of alcoholism and drug addiction.

AJ Crowell captivates the reader right from the beginning as she reveals her life story from childhood, through alcoholism, drug addiction and into recovery. Her own story is very compelling but she also utilizes the stories of other recovering alcoholics and shares their experience, strength and hope.

The chilling yet inspiring stories in this book are not only for those suffering from substance abuse, but for anyone who is dealing with a person in his life who suffers from addiction. Her goal is for readers to "acknowledge and reconsider the negative stigma that is attached to alcoholism, and understand how this bias often lingers even after an alcoholic is sober for years."

AJ also reveals how substance abusers will go to any length to hide their disease so that they appear normal on the outside. This book can definitely act as a guide to determine if someone you know may need help for his or her addictions.

Crowell's courage to not only survive but thrive is apparent as she guides the reader though her own recovery process. She clearly demonstrates the necessity of having a higher power, journaling, support group meetings, helping others, using mentors and several other valuable ideas. Recovery from the life threatening illness of addiction is a lifelong process and a recovering addict must always be working his program. It is a sad reality that a person with years of sobriety can relapse and die if she stops working her program.

The strength of Crowell's work is that she acknowledges the horrors of being addicted but shows the struggling addict that there is a way out. Her passion to recover and lead a joyful, meaningful life is very moving. She shows tremendous gratitude for her life in good times and bad and is determined to share her experience to benefit others. As the "Big Book of Alcoholic Anonymous" promises," she does not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it."

As a recovering alcoholic, Amy is the type of person I would love to have in my home recovery group. The unconditional love that she genuinely demonstrates for other people is heartwarming. Her life-time goal is to educate millions of people about alcoholism and drug addiction and "Loved Back to Life" is a wonderful start to fulfill her ambition.

Dr. Larry Smith D.C., B.P.E.
Author of Embracing the Journey of Recovery
http://embracingthejourneybook.com/

The best book to hit the shelves about the struggle thru addition into a productive life. It even has tips for parents who think that their children may be struggling as well as a self help test for the readers themselves. It was hard to put down.

Amy, your book is virtually an encyclopaedia of addiction. There is so much wonderful information and inspiration in 'Loved Back To Life', for addicts and non-addicts alike, including the self-tests in your book.
There was an interesting reference to a statistic,"Teenagers whose parents talk to them on a regular basis about the dangers of drug use are 42% less likely to use drugs than those whose parents do not."
That reference completely affirms for me that this is a topic no longer to be denied, and to be brought out in the open for discussion in our families and communities.
Your book provides great access to opening up that very important, and often avoided conversation. Being drunk and being alcoholic, are poles apart.
Your book is a must read for anyone with an addiction, or who knows someone who is addicted - to anything.
Thea Westra
Thought Leader And Author
www.forwardsteps.com.au

Wow! This is a book you cannot put down until you've read the whole story. Amy Crowell's Loved Back to Life is a must read for everyone. Whether you are an addict, a recovering alcoholic or someone who has never touched drugs or alcohol in your life, Amy Crowell speaks to all of us about the pain we all can relate to. She shows the way to forgive, to take charge of your life and become what you always dreamed of becoming."

Paul McCormick, Author of:
Secrets of the Miracle Inside and
Secrets of the Millionaire Inside

What a powerful, moving and inspiration testament to the power of love. This is a musr read for anyone who has given up hope, feels overwhelmed, or is being tortured because of a relationship influenced by substance abuse or emotional instability. True stories and real people provide the backdrop for real optimism. Amy provides the blueprint for aspiring to your best life - no matter what the circumstances. Loved it!

Dr. Richard A. DiCensoBeyond Medicine: Exploring a New Way of Thinking

First, the content. This is the most harrowing story of addiction I've ever read or heard of, and I've heard a lot of them in my 6+years of sobriety (at at least two stories a week). She went through hell, and this book recounts it in extreme detail. How she survived is a mystery. This section of the book (Section I) tells it all, in graphic detail.

The spelling is another matter. Many words are misspelled, or used in a context not intended. A simple spell checker (as in my PC) would help eliminate 90+% of these errors. I'm surprised that one was not used.

Insofar as editing, there wasn't any. There are some lines in the book whichhavenodiscernablespacesbetweenwords.There are none between some sentences, either, including one very noticeable run-on sentence where the period at the end of a sentence was literally overlapped by the "A" in the following sentence. (I can't duplicate the error on my PC to show you, as it (my PC) is too smart to allow such a foolish thing.) And, the insertion of various statistics (which are in bold print, thankfully) between every two or three paragraphs is disconcerting, to say the least. The statistics are valuable, but if they were inserted in a separate section of the book, I think it would be much easier to read the story of her experiences. Of course, a separate section of just statistics would probably be skipped over by most readers, except those interested in such things.

Section I recounts her story, and is (IMHO) the most valuable portion of the book. Sections II-V tell such things as other people's stories (though not in as much detail as hers), sobriety suggestions, facts about addiction, tests to tell if you are an alcoholic, or a co-dependent (a person who is psychologically dependent on the addict in an unhealthy way), or are you an enabler (one who, with all good intentions, inadvertently helps the addict in his disease), or are you, as a parent, giving a bad example to your child. There is also a section on where to get help (such as AA, CA [cocaine anonymous], dual addiction [being addicted to more than one thing, or being addicted and mentally ill [[although, in all honesty, all of us alcoholics/addicts have to be mentally ill]] simultaneously, and other groups or places to get well). It also contains the stories of other recovering addicts (as mentioned above).

All in all, I would give the book an enthusiastic 5 stars, if it weren't for the spelling errors and editing errors mentioned above. These may not bother you. As an English minor in college, these glaring mistakes jumped out at me, and interrupted my train of thought almost every other sentence. (My brain kept firing "Wasn't anyone editing this book?") For this reason, and no other, I knocked off a star. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book to anyone, not just an addict, as it makes for a hellofastory (run-on intended).

I bought this book for a couple of reasons. I too have struggled with addiction, but by the grace of God I have been clean for almost two years now.

I also happen to know Miss A.J.; I was fortunate to have her as a teacher in a college class. She is such an engaging personality and positive person that I had to rush out and buy her book.

The book is brutally honest and insightful. The first half is basically her life story, a sometimes harrowing trip through hell and back. There are parts that are tough to read; such is the life of a practicing addict and alcoholic. But it ends up being a story of triumph, though not without its pitfalls. Even after she gets sober, there are still many trials awaiting her. This part of the book is in no way preachy, it's simply honest. You don't get the feeling that the author is in any way proud of anything she has done, or is re-counting war stories like some people in 12 step meetings tend to do (IMHO). Interspersed throughout are well-researched facts and statistics that every person (not just addicts) should be aware of.

The second part of the book is a kind of reference for anyone dealing with addiction or its effects. Twelve step meetings are discussed, along with recommendations on how to find one that will serve you. Also included are several testimonies and life stories of, presumably, some of Miss A.J.'s acquaintances. These are generally interesting and useful to the reader.

The only problem I had with the book is purely superficial: it is filled with grammatical errors. Not spelling errors, mind you, just misused and missing words. I know Miss A.J. wrote this book on a shoestring budget, and actually had volunteers from some of her classes editing sections, so I can certainly understand how things like that slip through. I hesitate to even bring it up; it seems so petty compared to the overall value and message contained in the book itself. But I'm such an OCD perfectionist (lol, how many addicts aren't?) that I must mention it.

Overall, this is a book I would heartily recommend to anyone who has struggled with alcoholism and/or addiction, or anyone who knows someone who has. It is ultimately a story of hope and redemption that can inspire us all.

Excellent resource! for understanding the disease and stories of hope resound through the book. easy read, i couldn't put it down. it was a real eye opener, also lots of good sources listed in book for how or where to get more help. This would also be a good source if you were studying this issue and needed more info for reports/school.

This book was written in a very interesting style - full of honesty and compelling stories but totally realistic.
I have recommended it for reading to my sponsees and the parents of young addicts/alcoholics.

Amy (AJ) Crowell has written a beautiful book that can be an inspiration to all people who think they are hopelessly addicted. Amy proves that addiction can be beaten. AJ is to be commended for baring her life to help others. Anyone who is struggling with addiction should read this book.

Sheryl Letzgus McGinnis, Author I Am Your Disease (The Many Faces of Addiction, Slaying the Addiction Monster - An All-Inclusive Look at Drug Addiction in America Today and The Addiction Monster and the Square Cat.