It’s pretty exciting to see your name on the cover of a book, so imagine the excitement that Trish Clayton is feeling these days. Raised by God: The Autobiography of Patricia Clayton was published this month.
Trish and I met through the Write for You program at the Latah Recovery Center. In 2020 she started each day by writing down a story from her life, not a really long story, maybe a couple of pages at most. Two years and a lot of hard work later, Trish’s life story, Raised by God, is a book that anyone can buy on Amazon.
It begins with her birth and tells a story of intergenerational trauma, multiple addictions, suicide attempts, repeated relapses, and two decades (and counting!) of recovery and sobriety.
The back of the book says, “This is an account of her ride to the bottom and the decades-long process of recovering her life, her sanity, and her relationship with God.”
This is an interesting–and perhaps triggering–read for anyone who has been affected by family trauma and addiction.
For people who want to be more informed about addiction and recovery, Trish’s up-close and personal account shows how nobody decides to become an addict because they think it’s a good idea. She takes us through the thought processes that caused her to relapse over and over. Her story explains how and why it took her so long to “learn what she needed to learn.”
Congratulations, Trish, for the book, but also for your recovery, your life, and your inspiration.
Trish appeared on Recovery Radio in June of 2020. You can listen to that interview here.
In January, Trish and I will be organizing events like book signings and other presentations, so stay tuned for that.
Write for You will be offline for the month of December. Look for a return of weekly writing prompts in January.
Wishing everyone a happy and interesting holiday season.
If you are casting about for a New Year’s resolution, remember this: Writing 30 pages on a Saturday will change your weekend, but writing one page a day will change your life.
Nancy Casey has lived in Latah County for many years. You can find more of her work here. If you would like some help or encouragement with any kind of writing project, contact Nancy or the Latah Recovery Center.
Latah Recovery Community Center, Inc. 