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Title: A HOUSE ON STILTS
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Subtitle: MOTHERING IN THE AGE OF OPIOD ADDICTION
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Author: PAULA BECKER
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Genre: NON-FICTION, BIOGRAPHIES AND MEMOIRS, HEALTH AND WELLNESS, TRUE CRIME, ADDICTION
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Length: 176 PAGES
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Publisher: UNIVERSITY OF IOWA PRESS
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Received From: NETGALLEY
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Release Date: SEPTEMBER 15, 2019
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ISBN: 9781609386597
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Price: $18.00 USD
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Rating: 5+ OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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DESCRIPTION:
A House on Stilts tells the story of one woman’s struggle to reclaim wholeness while mothering a son addicted to opioids. Paula Becker’s son Hunter was raised in a safe, nurturing home by his writer/historian mom and his physician father. He was a bright, curious child. And yet, addiction found him.
More than 2.5 million Americans are addicted to opioids, some half-million of these to heroin. For many of them, their drug addiction leads to lives of demoralization, homelessness, and constant peril. For parents, a child’s addiction upends family life, catapulting them onto a path no longer prescribed by Dr. Spock, but by Dante’s Inferno. Within this ten-year crucible, Paula is transformed by an excruciating, inescapable truth: the difference between what she can do and what she cannot do.
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MY REVIEW:
I have recently read numerous biographies and memoirs and many of them have focused on the theme of addiction. Addiction was once ‘hush-hush’ and considered to be a dirty little secret. It is now beginning to be viewed not as shameful, but as a disease that is just as deadly as cancer, and one that can (and does) strike anyone at any age.
Many people look down on addicts and their families. They blame the addict’s parents, lifestyle, socioeconomic status, race, religion or any other of a myriad of factors upon which someone can place the blame. Often, in their smugness, they think “we are nothing like that family, therefore addiction will never be part of our lives.” Oh, how wrong they may be.
Paula Becker and her husband were living a charmed life. They were happy and when they added a son, Hunter, to the equation, they felt even more blessed. Adding another son and a daughter, and they were content.
In order to give their children, what they believed to be, an idyllic upbringing, Paula and her husband decided to homeschool them. Her husband was the main income provider and Paula could work as a part-time author from home. So, although it meant that they would have to be extremely smart with their spending, they were willing to do anything it took to ensure their children’s lives would be filled with learning and love.
Does this sound like a home where an opiate addict might come from? If asked, most people would answer “No.” Therein lies the challenge of identifying a person with a predilection toward addiction.
A HOUSE ON STILTS will force readers to confront the fact that addiction can (and does) happen to anyone, regardless of economic status, race, religion, colour, disability, location or any other of the myriad of reasons people have blamed for addiction.
Paula Becker’s memoir A HOUSE ON STILTS is being released at the perfect time. I firmly believe that every parent needs to read this book, and needs to read it NOW!
Paula Becker’s memoir will tug at your heartstrings as she writes about how her family’s life changes as her eldest son first dabbles, then dives headfirst into drugs. As Hunter’s addiction spirals out of control, his parents mourn the loss not only of his mental and physical health, but also the loss of a mother’s dreams for her son.
The Beckers family was lucky in that due to their economic status and health care insurance, they had the resources to get the very best treatment money could buy. Yet despite having so many advantages in life and even in addiction treatment options, they found that no matter what the family tried, that it would not work. They couldn’t wish Hunter better because it is the addict who must want to change.
One of the things I admire most about the author is her candor. She does not sugarcoat or try to justify any actions she has taken, nor does she try to make Hunter sound any better or worse than he really was. I am also happy that she chose to include details as to how Hunter’s addiction impacted his two siblings.
Written with her heart on her sleeve, Paula Becker’s memoir is important and deserves the highest possible rating. I rate A HOUSE ON STILTS as 5+ OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A House on Stilts: Mothering in the Age of Opioid Addiction (a memoir) will be published September 15, 2019, by University of Iowa Press.
To pre-order a signed copy of A HOUSE ON STILTS, please click HERE.
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*** Thank you to NetGalley and to the Publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book.***
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QUOTE:
“Hunter had been an erupting volcano during sophomore year. Now he was dormant. Barry and I monitored him, volcanologists. There was still smoke, there were occasional rumbles, but for a while Hunter put out relatively neutral readings.”
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Photo by David Ryder
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Paula Becker is a writer and historian living in Seattle, Washington. She is the author of the book:
Looking For Betty MacDonald: The Egg, The Plague, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and I (University of Washington Press)
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She also wrote the following books with co-author Alan J. Stein:
The Future Remembered: The 1962 Seattle World’s Fair And Its Legacy (Seattle Center Foundation, 2011)
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Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition: Washington’s First World’s Fair (History Ink/HistoryLink in association with University of Washington Press, 2009)
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More than 300 of Paula’s essays documenting all aspects of Washington’s history appear on http://www.HistoryLink.org, the online encyclopedia of Washington state history, where she is a historian.
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Read one of her essays by Clicking HERE
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Seattle Magazine has named Paula Becker as one of “The Six Seattle Authors You Shouldn’t Miss This Fall” in the September 2019 Edition.
Image Credit: Hayley Young
From left to right: Timothy Egan, Lindy West, Shin Yu Pai, Shauna Ahern, Paula Becker, Charles Johnson
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To read the full article click HERE.
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Upon the release of A House On Stilts, Paula Becker will be making various appearances around Seattle including an appearance on September 21st at 2 p.m (FREE) at Seattle Central Library, downtown, 1000 Fourth Ave., 206.386.4636;
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and on October 28th (6 p.m., free) at University Book Store, University District, 4326 University Way NE, 800.335.7323
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To learn more about this author, visit the following links:
OFFICIAL WEBSITE
https://paulabecker.org/
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TWITTER – AUTHOR
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TWITTER – PUBLISHER
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AMAZON
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Resources for families of people with addiction:
American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) patient resources page
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American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP) physician search
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Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) 24-hour a day national help line for treatment referrals
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Shatterproof (a national nonprofit organization dedicated to ending the devastation addiction causes families)
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Partnership for Drug-Free Kids
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Facing Addiction family and friends portal
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Sam Harris discusses addiction with Sally Satel, M.D., a practicing psychiatrist and lecturer at the Yale University School of Medicine who examines mental health policy as well as political trends in medicine.
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