When Michael Cooley returned to his childhood home in St. Louis, many of his old friends offered him this greeting: 'Cooley, I thought you were dead.' And by many accounts, he should have been dead. Michael Cooley was a member of two dysfunctional families. His mother in St. Louis was an alcoholic. His stepmother and stepbrothers in Gainesville, Texas, abused him relentlessly—both physically and verbally. As a child, Mike bounced from school to school and from city to city. As a teenager, he turned to gangs and drugs for a sense of acceptance. Eventually, he ended up homeless, sleeping on rooftops and in alleys, and living out of his car. But after living as an abused child, a homeless and drug-addicted teenager, and a completely lost young adult, Mike decided to start over as a different person. Rock Bottom—From the Streets to Success tells Mike's story from his childhood in the 1960s until today. Mike escapes the darkness of his past and eventually puts his life back together to become a success in business and in his personal life. Follow Mike as he overcomes the hardships of his childhood and shares his experiences in hopes of helping others who may be facing their own challenges.

A memoir from childhood neglect, emotional abuse, and a broken home to a teenage pregnancy. Difficulty in trusting others led to a battle of depression and uncertainty in where life was headed. The teenage pregnancy led to a difficult marriage filled with lies, affairs, drug involvement, and eventually a painful divorce. Growing up with a narcissistic mother and alcoholic father led to making difficult decisions with very little guidance. Shortly after the divorce I found myself involved in two more bad relationships with narcissists that took advantage of my empathy and robbed me. I lost my home, battled high debts, and my children lost their father due to drugs. Life seemed impossible. Tragic events took a toll on my mental and physical health. When the nightmares, depression, and anxiety consumed me I turned to therapy. I began taking prescription medications to help. The meds caused severe side effects that led to more poor choices. I contemplated working in a gentlemens club. I ended up in a relationship with my husbandÆs brother and quit eating for several months. My story is a reminder of how childhood trauma leads to the choices we make as adults, but there is hope. Without faith and prayer, I would have never made it out alive. God took my pain to use it for the greater good when I gave my life to him. He turned all of my mistakes and losses around to help me get where I am today in healthy relationships, with an education, and out of depression. You are never too far gone.

Bash Nadir was a promising young guitarist in Austin, Texas who dreamt of having a successful career in the music business. His dreams were shattered when he lost his arm in a motorcycle accident. Working as the sound engineer for a rock band, the Zeniths, Bash and the band move into an old house in the country where no one expects the strange and dark events awaiting them, events that will lead Bash to revelation, redemption, and the love of his life.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Fern Michaels continues her long-running and acclaimed Sisterhood series, in which a group of very different women forge a bond to help them right wrongs—especially when the victims are other women. Rock Bottom brings together some of her readers’ favorite characters in an adventure-packed story that will satisfy every Fern fan. Isabelle “Izzy” Flanders and Yoko Akia are beginning a new project—an indoor/outdoor café that will be the cornerstone of a market village. Izzy knows just where to get the project off the ground: her old college classmate, Zoe Danfield, now vice president of a huge construction corporation. But the Zoe that Izzy reencounters doesn’t seem like her old, confident friend. This Zoe is tense and stressed, and Izzy eventually learns why. Buildings and bridges have been collapsing all over the world, causing hundreds of deaths, and Zoe suspects her firm’s inferior foundation materials are the cause. When she asks questions, she gets told to keep her nose out of what doesn’t concern her. Zoe knows someone has to blow the whistle and reveal the truth. Who better than the Sisterhood? But this adversary has money, power, and resources to match the Sisterhood’s—and no intention of giving up without a fight . . . Praise for Fern Michaels “Blends suspense, mystery and heartwarming charm.” —Woman’s World on Safe and Sound

Rivers, oceans, streams, lakes—it doesn't matter what shape it takes, Em Hansen is terrified of the water. She hasn't shared her phobia with her new husband, Fritz, and when his best friend, Tiny, organizes a month-long, private, white-water rafting trip through the Grand Canyon as a wedding gift, she can't tell him how awful the trip sounds. Fritz and Tiny cobble together a party of fourteen people for the trip, but at the last minute, Tiny finds himself in the hospital and has to miss the trip. He fills his spot with George "Wink" Oberley, ostensibly a geology Ph.D. candidate at Princeton and expert river rafter, but Em immediately suspects there's more to his story. Then the rafting trip Em had been trying so hard to enjoy veers further off course than she had ever expected: Someone disappears from their party, and a dead body washes up downstream. Now it's up to Em to figure out what happened—and whether she and her husband and stepson are sharing rafts, food supplies, and tents with a murderer. Rock Bottom, the latest in Sarah Andrews's beloved Em Hansen series, will delight readers with its breathtaking scenery and riveting mystery.

DARK, HONEST, UPLIFTING. THIS IS A SOBRIETY MEMOIR LIKE NO OTHER. 'This is a book that tears down walls.' Marian Keyes 'Bryony Gordon is a terrific, compassionate writer whose razor-sharp honesty slices through every sentence of this compelling memoir.' Liz Day 'Poetic, raw and very important.' Fearne Cotton Bryony Gordon is a respected journalist, a number-one bestselling author and an award-winning mental health campaigner. She is also an alcoholic. In Glorious Rock Bottom Bryony opens up about a toxic twenty-year relationship with alcohol and drugs and explains exactly why hitting rock bottom - for her, a traumatic event and the abrupt realisation that she was putting herself in danger, time and again - saved her life. Known for her trademark honesty, Bryony re-lives the darkest and most terrifying moments of her addiction, never shying away from the fact that alcoholism robs you of your ability to focus on your family, your work, your health, your children, yourself. And then, a chink of light as the hard work begins - rehab; twelve-step meetings; endless, tedious, painful self-reflection - a rollercoaster ride through self-acceptance, friendship, love and hope, to a joy and pride in staying sober that her younger self could never have imagined. Shining a light on the deep connection between addiction and mental health issues, Glorious Rock Bottom is in turn, shocking, brutal, dark, funny, hopeful and uplifting. It is a sobriety memoir like no other.

Diamond at Your Rock Bottom: Turning Adversity into Triumph In this transformative debut, Dr. Bolu Oladini, a dynamic pharmaceutical executive and serial entrepreneur, extends a compelling invitation to young adults in their 20s and 30s. Drawing from a rich tapestry of wisdom that blends stoicism, Zen, modern psychology, and Christianity, Dr. Oladini guides readers through a comprehensive framework to use personal and professional adversity as stepping stones to self-transformation through post-traumatic growth. His unique approach encourages readers who have gone through traumatic experiences (“rock bottom”) to use the aftermath of the crisis to re-assess and re-create themselves into the best version of themselves (a “diamond”). Dr. Oladini employs the powerful metaphor of a diamond—crafted under pressure from rough coal—to illustrate the potential for beauty and success from life's hardest moments. This book will flip your perspective, revealing that rock bottom is not a pit of despair, but a launching pad for finding your true potential. The journey laid out in Diamond at Your Rock Bottom is not about merely surviving challenges, but transforming them into catalysts for profound personal growth. His unique model breaks down the path to post-traumatic growth. Dr. Oladini’s book takes readers on a journey with his methodical framework that includes insightful and often counterintuitive ideas in chapters discussing failure, acceptance, identity, values, habits, relationships, intuition, and courage. With a wide variety of stories and examples to drive home his points, Oladini shows us the common threads in people and companies who are able to overcome and transcend adversity. As he states in the first chapter, “The pressure that will form your diamond is your journey of self-discovery, personal growth, and spiritual awakening after reaching rock bottom.” Similar to how coal can turn into a diamond after undergoing thousands of pounds of pressure, this book is a guide to show the reader how to create and uncover their own diamond. Readers will leave with a sense of renewed hope, energy, and insight. Go to www.boluoladini.com today to find out more and get your copy. Dr. Bolu Oladini is a pharmacist by training and a pharmaceutical industry executive. He is also a serial entrepreneur with a profitable short-term rental business, a real estate syndication group, and a successful career coaching business. With his background in psychology and a life filled with overcoming personal challenges, Dr. Oladini is passionately equipped to inspire others to use their adversity as a catalyst for personal transformation. He, his wife, and their son reside in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, where he continues to share his journey and support others in crafting their own stories of success.

this book was written by a man who has lived, worked and raised a family while at the same time suffering as a compulsive gambler in las vegas nevada.it is hoped that this book will serve as a warning for those who may be attracted to the big city lights of las vegas.this is a true story of a man who after over thirty years of working in the often lucrative construction industry now has next to nothing due to a compulsive gambling problem.

Ruby has no money, not a single friend, and a shocking 1925 felony conviction for larceny. Though she encounters betrayal, she embarks on a journey to re-enter her children’s lives that will test the core of her being as obstacles chip away at everything but her resilient spirit. Deceived by men, caught between survival, career opportunities, and providing for her children, Ruby’s enduring love and determination to rise above her mistakes resonates with anyone who has yearned for a second chance. Threads of life in Tennessee during the 1930s and 1940s—the Great Depression, WWII, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and Manhattan projects—add to her odyssey. Set in rural Tennessee, one woman’s journey from despair to redemption unfolds as a single mother, showing Ruby’s grit in tumultuous times. Based on the true story of the author’s grandmother, this biographical historical fiction novel shows us the enduring power of a mother’s love, personal sacrifice, and difficult choices. This tragic and uplifting sequel to Rock Bottom, Tennessee, will move readers of Great Circle, Go as a River, and The Four Winds with a testament to the enduring power of love, forgiveness, and the boundless possibilities of starting anew.