"The journey that the author tells in this remarkable memoir gives me so much hope for the future. As a Judge in a Dependency Court (where children are removed from parents to help them achieve sobriety to gain their children back), this insight into the life of the child is so valuable. We must always weigh the harm to remove against the harm to the child if they continue in the drug lifestyle of their parent. Jenny is proof that the generational cycle can be broken. Thank you to the author for sharing your heart with us."
"In well-crafted, often poignant, prose, she offers a jaw-dropping, insider's view of substance abuse throughout three generations. This alternately disturbing and uplifting memoir... ultimately, [is] a testament to Hunt's resilience in the face of unfavorable odds. An inspiring tale that's told with honesty and love."
"This beautifully-designed memoir reminds us all of the strangle-hold addiction can have on entire families, and how it only takes one person to break free and end the cycle for future generations. Even so, the sad ramifications of the trauma addiction always brings are not something easily escaped, even with support and the distance of time passed.
Author Jennifer Hunt shares her childhood, born early to a mother addicted to drugs, and the impact years of neglect and instability had on her as she entered adulthood and grew her own family. Surrounded by adults ruled by their impulses and handicapped inhibitions, Jenny has to claw her way to a different kind of life - to 'live instead of just exist.' Eventually she becomes a court stenographer, which provides an additional lens through which she shares her family and personal dramas. The vignettes of episodes remembered, and exploration of decisions and circumstances that made her family flounder under the weight of addiction, form the foundation for a very thoughtful and hopeful personal history.
The inscription states that the book is written so that 'history will stop repeating,' and has the potential to positively affect many more families that just her own as a cautionary tale and story of triumph."
