Böcker av Barbara Theodosiou

Living Without Shame is the follow-up support book to Barbara Theodosiou's family account of addiction, Without Shame. She knows all too well the depths of addiction, losing her precious son Daniel to its destruction. Recipient of a White House Champion of Change award, Barbara continues to help other mothers of addicted children with this interactive mindfulness journal for moms. These self-care exercises can be helpful for anyone who feels a little (or a lot) overwhelmed by the new reality of the coronavirus crisis.Founder of The Addict's Mom and sister to tens of thousands of fellow mothers of children with addictions, Barbara Theodosiou renews her pledge to help her peers. Living Without Shame is anchored in her main spiritual principle of healing: to process, grieve, and move forward from addiction, mothers of addicted children must look inward and live outward, without shame. Nestled inside an affirming and comforting aesthetic, this guided journal's fifty-two weekly activities help any mother to focus on herself. It may feel unnatural at first, because a mother's primary concern is always her child. But it's vital that a mother look after herself too, and this healing journal is designed for just that. This journal isn't for a child: not for finding him help or for saving him. It's entirely for moms to find their way home to their own happiness.

Barbara Theodosiou and her family reveal the pain, loss, and connection that emerge from addiction, trauma, codependency, and recovery in this unique view into the heart of a national crisis.The ringing phone startles Barbara during another sleepless night. She knows it must be Daniel, her big-hearted, intelligent son who has spent years cycling through hospitals, jails, and treatment centers. Although Daniel’s childhood struggles started much earlier, he was sixteen when Barbara discovered he was horribly addicted to DXM, the drug found in many over-the-counter cough medicines. After picking up the pieces from one more of her son’s relapses, Barbara seeks support in the online refuge she created when she had nowhere else to turn: The Addict’s Mom. There, she can “Share Without Shame” with others who understand. These other mothers know that it can become normal to hope your son will be locked up so he isn’t sleeping on the street. These other moms understand how it feels to realize you have not just one addicted child but two--Barbara discovered her oldest son Peter’s addiction just six months after Daniel’s. And when that happens, sometimes all a mother can do is try to save herself. But this isn’t just a mother’s story. Without Shame encompasses Daniel’s own poetry and prose, Peter’s story of healing against all odds, their sister Nicole’s story of balancing compassion and independence, and other often unheard voices. This multifaceted story reveals what it truly means to describe addiction as a family disease.