Addiction: What I Wish I Could Tell My Father - Paperback

by Denver J. Hamilton (Author)

The story of an artist and musician, who is both colorblind and tone-deaf, and his journey through learning to cope with depression, anxiety, poor self-image, and thoughts of suicide. What starts as social drinking and the occasional experimentation with drugs, quickly devolves into a hopeless addiction to alcohol and a dependence on a self-medicated hallucinogen guided psychotherapy. Teetering on the brink of mental collapse, an unexpected turn of events leads Denver Hamilton down a path to recovery. After detoxing in military basic training, which would serve as his rehab, he returns home with a new brand of people pleasing-perfectionism, a survival mechanism built to hide the mistakes of his past. Sober living, falling in love, and having children sparks a new journey with shadow work therapy that uncovers his deepest, darkest secrets that once fueled his substance abuse. Denver realizes the only way to truly break his addiction for good is to admit to his parents and brother what he had hidden from them his entire life. Written as a letter to his father, Denver vulnerably walks us through his childhood, his parents' divorce, sibling rivalry, bullying, gaslighting, and his feelings of inadequacy of never living up to their expectations. A unique, artistic approach to understanding perception, trauma, and parenting in a tragically playful, yet hilariously sad, story that serves as a guide for anyone struggling with addiction or for families that want to regain the closeness they once had with each other.