Many Faces, One Voice is a must-read companion book to the award-winning film The Anonymous People. Together with the film, this collection of insights, illuminated by vibrant faces and voices of recovery, takes the reader along a journey of individual growth and, potentially, to world change. A vital record of the lives and testimony of brave people who have come out of the shadows of anonymity to fight stigma and discrimination—people who now publicly advocate for the 23 million Americans suffering with addiction. Their inspiring stories, told in intimate detail, are essential to understanding the success, the hope, and the power of recovery. Bud Mikhitarian is an award-winning filmmaker and the producer of The Anonymous People film. Greg Williams is the director of The Anonymous People.

Drugs are pervasive - pushed at school, at parties, in the street. Young people have to make choices about drugs as a fact of everyday life. Ideals, protest, demanding school work, the need for emotional intimacy, the natural desire to experiment, wanting to appear cool - all these factors can make drug taking seem attractive.

"Mom, nobody wakes up one day and decides to be an addict." The stories contained in this book are about people from every walk of life, socioeconomic levels, religious and ethnic backgrounds whose lives were intertwined with people who didnt "decide to be an addict." They all share one common bond - living with, and loving an addicted person. Contained within the pages of this book are stories by bereaved parents who have suffered the ultimate loss: The loss of their precious child. Read how addiction, whether it be drugs, alcohol or gambling, destroys not only the addicted person, but their entire circle of friends and family. No one escapes the tentacles of addiction. Like an octopus it reaches its deadly arms around us and squeezes the very life out of all of us. Our society is affected in ways we never imagined. Read excerpts from middle school students on the peer pressures they face today. Read about "pharming" and other code words used by kids. Read the stories of parents who have gone through hell, sacrificing their very sanity trying to save their child. The profiles of these children will change your mind about what kind of people do drugs. GOOD KIDS DO DRUGS TOO! And theyre dying by the thousands from high profile celebrities to the boys and girls next door. It isnt always heroin or cocaine thats killing them. Prescription pill abuse is growing at an alarming rate and parents need to know about this.

Over time, the meaning of the word bully needed expanded, and so it was, and so it is inside this book. Some call this a bullying epidemic, and others say a bully is abusive. Plus, abuse is only one attribute of many covered inside these pages. Today, bullying covers everything from projecting hate to the bully drugs. In the end, there are not only similarities and differences before and after the internet and social media, but the outcome remains the same: broken, hurting, and shattered lives./ Here, you will read about bullies, abuse, and the addict who overcame drugs and more. But how? Yet, regarding the severity of any traumatic event or how far back an incident occurred, know that God can help you recover what was lost, broken, or stolen. Being candid, Grace’s memory stream of being bullied led to a collection of authentic events, where the names have been changed to protect the forgiven and preserve the dead. How did she overcome and forgive what happened? Besides, we all sat in church Sunday after Sunday, month after month, year after year, and absolutely nobody discussed it—their silent pain. “Shush! Don’t tell anyone I’m dealing with an addict. My son ... My daughter is using. Or worse.” So one day the same familiar faces now admitted that their children or family members or friends were indeed addicted to opiates and more. Wow! This had hit way too close to home to not talk about the cause, the effect, or the outcome. On the flip side, you may be dealing with a different type of addiction, even food. Or perhaps you have been bullied. Possibly you are in a toxic relationship, or maybe you’ve been raped, molested, victimized by a bully, or body-shammed over your size or what you eat. Still, out of these devastating experiences, read and know: God is a God of healing and restoration.

Often it is difficult for parents to recognize when their child is abusing alcohol, using illegal drugs, or in trouble with other substances that are hazardous to their health, safety, and wellbeing. Clearing the Haze is a guide designed to help parents determine whether their child may have a substance problem and, if so, how to begin to address it. The book includes the voices and insight of experts in substance abuse counseling, young people in recovery, and parents who have lived the nightmare of adolescent addiction. The book moves readers through an overview of adolescent brain development, the warning signs of drug use and addiction, treatment options, what families should expect of therapy, the basics of productive communication, and the difficulties of dealing lovingly with addicted teens. The authors encourage families entering the 12th step of “giving back” to consider advocacy for smarter public policies surrounding drug access and addiction treatment. They also provide a list of resources parents may find useful. A necessary resource for every community, this book will help parents, teachers, friends, and others help kids who need help.

You've heard the horror stories about drug addiction. Your eyes glaze over with half-hearted interest when you see the stats surrounding the "opioid crisis." You know you should care that 130 people are dying of accidental overdose every day in America, yet you just can't seem to muster the compassion. Substance use disorder may be a vague abstraction to most of us, but our friends and family are not. Our sons and daughters aren't "junkies" who deserve to be written off by society. They are human beings whose lives are filled with meaning and potential. Joshua Lawson has worked as an organizer, pastor, and ally to people who use drugs in central Appalachia for the past three years. The Face of Addiction tells the stories of twelve people he met when he first began "getting close" to the things that matter in his community. There's the woman whose husband succumbed to an overdose even though she was sure he'd finally beaten it. The man who found a reason for recovery in his daughter's letter to Santa. The city councilman whose perspective finally changed after years of family turmoil. What's more, two of the people featured here have died since giving their interview. That's how important it is for you to hear what they have to say. So much heartache and loss. So much joy and redemption. So much humanity. This is the face of addiction.