The Sun is Gone: A Sister Lost in Secrets, Shame, and Addiction, and How I Broke Free
by Jodee Prouse
About the Book
This is not a partial glimpse of addiction—it is the whole story. It begins with a violent childhood that bonded two children together forever, perhaps setting the stage for what was to come. Jodee’s younger brother Brett became an alcoholic. And she the sister of an alcoholic.
As he walked the thin line between life and death, she experienced gut-wrenching highs and lows, obsessively doing everything she could to get his life back on track, sacrificing her own young children, marriage, career, and personal health. Her love for him and his dependence on her would last them a lifetime and almost destroy them both. Like the millions of people worldwide who love someone addicted to drugs or alcohol, Jodee believed she was doing all the right things.
Written with extreme candor, no shame, and in the hope of helping other families get help for themselves as well as their loved ones, The Sun is Gone sheds a bright light on the often-disturbing reality of the progression of alcoholism and what goes on behind closed doors.
“A deeply intimate and moving story of trauma, loss, addiction, tragedy and the possibility of redemption.”
– Gabor Maté M.D., author of In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters With Addiction.
“Addiction is a family disease and it will take a change of a whole family to turn it around. A poignant story of sibling love, the ability to change and the impact family structure has on recovery.”
– Dr. Frank Lawlis, Author Not My Child, Chairman of the Dr. Phil Advisory Board and Co-founder of the Lawlis Peavey PNP Center.
About the Author
Jodee Prouse is a daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, friend, neighbor, co-worker.
She is an advocate and a voice for families surrounding alcohol, drug addiction, and mental illness.
She lives with her husband of 26 years, Jim. They split their time between Sylvan Lake, Alberta and their home in Oroville, Washington.
Amazon Central Author Page – www.authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/profile
Goodreads Author Page – www.goodreads.com/photo/author/16631297.Jodee_Prouse
Interview with Jodee Prouse
Please share a bit about your journey to become a published author?
I never intended to be a writer. In fact, just a few short months ago I made body lotion for a living, but my heart propelled me. I had an important story to tell – one that I felt would make an impact on this world in a positive way. I worked with Julie at Influence Publishing in one-on-one sessions to bring this to light. The final manuscript, through Julie and my editor Nina’s expertise, is far greater than I could have ever done on my own.
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How does the writing process work for you? Do you schedule a time every day, work madly when inspiration hits or ?
Now I write articles for my own blog, magazines and other websites. Typically I write when I think I have something important to say. That can’t be pre-scheduled.
What did you find most difficult about the writing and publishing process?
I was extremely naive when it came to finding an agent and publisher. Everything I was told and read said that you must get an agent first and the process certainly isn’t for the weak. I sent out over 300 emails to various agents across North America and waited , and waited, and waited some more. Most went unanswered. Many came back “Not the topic for me.”
After more than 9 month of not being able to get my manuscript read, I found Julie at Influence and I was on my way. What was the easiest? Nothing worthwhile is easy and this is no exception.
What title (or titles) have you released?
The Sun is Gone: A Sister Lost in Secrets, Shame and Addition, and How I Broke Free.
How many times have you lost yourself in some chronic family crisis, giving and giving until there is no more left to give—and yet you give more. Out of love, out of duty, out of knowing that everyone looks to you? As women, we have often learned from childhood that we are the ones that must be the peacemakers, the problem-solvers, the fixers—the ones to make concessions. And we sometimes do this with dire consequences, losing our selves, sometimes our partners and our children — and even our souls.
Jodee Prouse knows this from experience. Her painfully honest book, The Sun Is Gone – about trying to halt the alcoholic decline of her beloved brother, midst a lifetime of family crisis and dysfunction – is both a cautionary tale and beacon of hope for women to find the strength to make painful, but personally healthy choices.
And ultimately the power to: LEARN. ACCEPT. FORGIVE. HEAL.
What would you like readers to know about you?
I am no different than anyone else. I am daughter, sister, wife, mom, friend and neighbour who is just trying to do the best I can maneuver through this journey of life. As women we need to know that it is alright to look after our own needs first. It is okay to ask for help and we need to surround ourselves with people that build us up, not tear us down.
Do you have any new books in the planning or writing stage?
I am open to writing a follow-up, picking up the pieces, which will have the continual journey following the loss of my brother as well as what I have learned since including family patterns and having to break free from unhealthy relationships.