FINALIST! American Book Fest Annual Awards SILVER AWARD! Nautilus Book Awards Choosing Life is the courageous and compelling story of Blue Andrews, who fell into debilitating depression and then worked his way back to become stronger than ever. This book is about trial, persistence, discovery, and hope-hope that no matter how dark things get, you can feel better and life can be beautiful. Andrews opens by sharing a life that seemingly had it all-family, friendships, career success, material wealth-yet ...
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FINALIST! American Book Fest Annual Awards SILVER AWARD! Nautilus Book Awards Choosing Life is the courageous and compelling story of Blue Andrews, who fell into debilitating depression and then worked his way back to become stronger than ever. This book is about trial, persistence, discovery, and hope-hope that no matter how dark things get, you can feel better and life can be beautiful. Andrews opens by sharing a life that seemingly had it all-family, friendships, career success, material wealth-yet was also filled with trauma, excessive drinking, self-doubt, and suicidal thinking. Through his eye-opening and brutally honest storytelling, he shows what it's like to appear one way on the outside and feel completely different on the inside. Andrews then brings us along as he figures out his own recovery journey, during which he finds a level of health he may never have had otherwise. With insight only achieved through experience, he shares his perspectives on alcoholism and grieving, acknowledges the value of accepting support, discusses the importance of discovering self, and unveils what life can feel like after overcoming mental illness. Engaging, inspiring, and relatable, this book will be beneficial to anyone suffering the impacts of alcoholism and/or depression. Awards and recognition for Choosing Life : Living Now, Silver Nautilus, Silver NYC Big Book, Distinguished Finalist American Book Fest, Finalist National Indie Excellence, Finalist Reader's Favorite Five Stars IndieReader Approved
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Seller's Description:
Fair. An acceptable and readable copy. All pages are intact, and the spine and cover are also intact. This item may have light highlighting, writing or underlining through out the book, curled corners, missing dust jacket and or stickers.
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Fine. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 232 p. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
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New. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 232 p. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
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PLEASE NOTE, WE DO NOT SHIP TO DENMARK. New Book. Shipped from UK in 4 to 14 days. Established seller since 2000. Please note we cannot offer an expedited shipping service from the UK.
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Seller's Description:
PLEASE NOTE, WE DO NOT SHIP TO DENMARK. New Book. Shipped from UK in 4 to 14 days. Established seller since 2000. Please note we cannot offer an expedited shipping service from the UK.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
New. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 232 p. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Alcoholism is perhaps one of the most common diseases in the world. And, yes, it is a disease, because much like a disease, it tears away at a personââ?¬â?¢s health until it kills them. Or it somehow or another convinces a person that they should kill themselves. And when it gets to that point, thatââ?¬â?¢s when you know it is very bad. Blue Andrews, however, did not see it that way. His depression, low self-esteem, and stress all contributed to making it easier for his alcoholism to convince him that suicide was the right choice. Only, it wasnââ?¬â?¢t, but unfortunately, the author could not see that it wasnââ?¬â?¢t. He was in his alcoholism too deeply to be able to see that. What happens after making that terrible choice ends up changing his life forever, as he shares with readers in his memoir ââ?¬Å"Choosing Life: One Manââ?¬â?¢s Journey Through Alcoholism and Depression to Wellness and Self-Discovery.ââ?¬Â?
Reading this book was difficult, because of all the terrible things piled on to the author at such a young age. He has gone through so much loss in his life. He never really comes to terms with it. He lost his best friend and his mother at a young age, and in his thirties, he still struggled with that loss.
The pain resulting from that loss fueled his alcoholism, but it is not what caused it. The problem is that he never saw his excessive drinking as a problem. This is especially true as he grew up with an alcoholic father who hoarded cases of beer, and his college buddies often encouraged him to drink more and more.
Blue Andrews does, however, get to a point in his life where he, well, must choose life. After a botched suicide attempt, he realized his alcoholism was too big of a problem that he wasn�t aware of, and that it was time to kick that problem to the curb.
I think it�s great that he was able to attend events where there was drinking and be able to stay sober. Yes, I got mad that his friends still drank around him, but it�s cool they all wanted to be comfortable around each other in this new setting and the drinking buddies were not pressured to try to stop drinking as well.
I�m glad he talks about how everybody experiences alcoholism differently. This is very true. It�s also true that many alcoholics are in denial. They think they are fine, don�t have a drinking problem, and that they can handle it. They think they are not hurting anybody when they are really hurting themselves. I also liked how Mr. Andrews eventually gets to a point where he realizes, and accepts, that he DID have a drinking problem. His alcoholism was ruining his life, even though he did not see it that way.
Sobriety living is completely different from alcoholic living. With alcoholism, you are too focused on yourself, your problems, and your emotions. These all feed the alcoholism. But, stepping outside of yourself and caring about other people instead of yourself is one of the positive changes a person experiences once they become sober. Being sober, they now focus on and care about others. The author makes this point when he writes,
When it came to the end of my drinking career, it was about me and the alcohol. It consumed such a large part of my being. Now it is about people and living.
With sobriety, there is a feeling of gratitude to be free of that addiction and a genuine desire to help others. You are no longer all caught up on what�s going on inside of you, but more focused on what�s going on outside of you.
Another perk of continued sobriety is the satisfaction of knowing you are in control of whether you will drink. You are able to make that choice. The author writes,
The biggest thing that helps me feel good about not drinking is the understanding that I am choosing not to drink. I choose.
He learns the importance of tackling lingering issues instead of allowing them to fester within him. As he states,
...if I spend a few minutes or hours or days working through the internal dialogue of the grieving stages, then my mind and soul have the energy and space to take on life again.
He understands that he must get rid of that clutter so that the rest of him can function at his fullest potential.
I love how he gains a greater appreciation of his life and the important people he has in it later in his recovery. Heââ?¬â?¢s like, ââ?¬Å"Wow! I am experiencing this amazing life with these amazing people who love me, and itââ?¬â?¢s great!ââ?¬Â? Getting to this point in recovery is a big accomplishment. Plus, he has a greater appreciation and gratitude for the people in his life and knows what a blessing it is to be alive to be with them. This is perhaps the greatest blessing of sobriety.
His writings at the end of the book resonated with this reviewer. It�s so important to focus on the things that help you enjoy life and continue to feel gratitude. As he says,
I try to focus energy toward living, getting whatever extra days I can squeeze out of my time, and maximizing them while I have them. Any energy spent in the other direction sucks resources away from that.
And for Blue Andrews, it is staying focused on choosing life.
