The Gangster’s Guide to Sobriety

The Gangster’s Guide to Sobriety PDF Author: Richie Stephens
Publisher: Post Hill Press
ISBN: 1637588771
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 151

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Book Description
Richie Stephens is an actor who often plays hardened gangsters and criminals. This is easy for him because he was a drug trafficker, kidnapper, drug addict, alcoholic, and all-around criminal himself. His life twisted and turned in harrowing self-destructive adventures that took him from his native Ireland to San Francisco, Australia, and finally, Los Angeles, coalescing into a classic tale of a man trying to run from his problems by moving to new and more exotic locations—a hard and painful realization that comes at a point in which he’s about to take his own life. The only reason there is a story to tell is because he did not. Instead, he found help, and in doing so, found himself. More than that, he found that help comes in different forms, and oftentimes it just takes the right thought to hit at the right time for it all to make sense. The Gangster’s Guide to Sobriety chronicles Richie’s descent into the abyss of crime and dependency, and how his personal understanding of freedom allowed him to become the functioning positive force he is today. Richie’s story is sprawling and epic, but the key to the book is the same key to his recovery: the 12 Steps. With his own flair and original understanding of life and the world, he followed the 12 Steps to find the clarity he needed to save his own life and evolve into a positive force for others. As Richie says, “Hopefully if people see that someone as fucked up as me could change their life, then there is hope for anyone.” The Gangster’s Guide to Sobriety is gripping in its honesty and openness. Even at its darkest moments, there is a keen understanding of the absurd nature of life as the author comes to grips with his failings and his faith, while also entering a place of self-acceptance. This is a story of redemption and the power of the human spirit, and how sometimes you have to turn to something greater than yourself.

The Gangster’s Guide to Sobriety

The Gangster’s Guide to Sobriety PDF Author: Richie Stephens
Publisher: Post Hill Press
ISBN: 1637588771
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 151

Get Book Here

Book Description
Richie Stephens is an actor who often plays hardened gangsters and criminals. This is easy for him because he was a drug trafficker, kidnapper, drug addict, alcoholic, and all-around criminal himself. His life twisted and turned in harrowing self-destructive adventures that took him from his native Ireland to San Francisco, Australia, and finally, Los Angeles, coalescing into a classic tale of a man trying to run from his problems by moving to new and more exotic locations—a hard and painful realization that comes at a point in which he’s about to take his own life. The only reason there is a story to tell is because he did not. Instead, he found help, and in doing so, found himself. More than that, he found that help comes in different forms, and oftentimes it just takes the right thought to hit at the right time for it all to make sense. The Gangster’s Guide to Sobriety chronicles Richie’s descent into the abyss of crime and dependency, and how his personal understanding of freedom allowed him to become the functioning positive force he is today. Richie’s story is sprawling and epic, but the key to the book is the same key to his recovery: the 12 Steps. With his own flair and original understanding of life and the world, he followed the 12 Steps to find the clarity he needed to save his own life and evolve into a positive force for others. As Richie says, “Hopefully if people see that someone as fucked up as me could change their life, then there is hope for anyone.” The Gangster’s Guide to Sobriety is gripping in its honesty and openness. Even at its darkest moments, there is a keen understanding of the absurd nature of life as the author comes to grips with his failings and his faith, while also entering a place of self-acceptance. This is a story of redemption and the power of the human spirit, and how sometimes you have to turn to something greater than yourself.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia, 2nd Edition

The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia, 2nd Edition PDF Author: Jerry Capeci
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1440625824
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 468

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Book Description
You never go against the family. Here is the most comprehensive introduction to and explanation of the most infamous crime organization in history. Completely updated with more than 70 pages of new material and photographs, it includes information about the shifts in power and tightening of ranks of different families after convictions of their key members; new inside information on the role of the families in Chicago, Boston, Las Vegas, Rochester, and even Montreal; and updates on the DeCavalcante family who bragged they were the real “Sopranos” on FBI wiretaps. • More than 70 pages of new material. • Full of dramatic anecdotes and photos about everything from Capone to Gotti and beyond. • Written by acclaimed expert author and reporter of all things Mafia in his weekly online column “Gang Land” (ganglandnews.com).

The Motion Picture Guide

The Motion Picture Guide PDF Author: Jay Robert Nash
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 616

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Book Description


Smile Now, Cry Later

Smile Now, Cry Later PDF Author: Freddy Negrete
Publisher: Seven Stories Press
ISBN: 1609806956
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 381

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Book Description
Pioneering black-and-gray tattoo artist Freddy Negrete was twelve years old and confined in the holding cell of a Los Angeles juvenile facility when an older teenager entered—covered in tattoos. Freddy was in awe, not just of the art, but of what it symbolized, and he wanted what this kid had: the potent sense of empowerment and belonging that came from joining a gang. The encounter drove Freddy to join the notorious gang La Sangra, and it didn't take long before he was a regular guest at LA County's juvenile detention facilities. By the age of twenty-one, Freddy had spent almost his whole life as a ward of the state in one form or the other. Enthralled by the black-and-gray tattoo style that in the 1970s was confined to the rebel culture of Chicano gangsters and criminals, Freddy started inking himself with hand-poked tattoos. Everyone wanted a piece of Freddy's black-and-gray style--gangbangers but also Hollywood starlets and film producers. In a riveting narrative that takes the reader from Freddy's days as a cholo gang member to evangelical preacher to Hollywood body art guru to addiction counselor, Smile Now, Cry Later is, ultimately, a testament to that spark within us all, that catalyst which gives us the strength to survive, transform, and transcend all that can destroy us.

Cowboys and Gangsters

Cowboys and Gangsters PDF Author: Samuel K. Dolan
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1442246707
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 353

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Book Description
Even after WWI had ended, the region of Arizona, New Mexico, and West Texas stubbornly refused to be tamed. It was still a place where frontier gunfights still broke out at an alarming rate. Utilizing official records, newspaper accounts, and oral histories, Cowboys and Gangsters tells the story of the untamed “Wild West” of the Prohibition-era of the 1920s and early 1930s and introduces a rogues’ gallery of sixgun-packing western gunfighters and lawmen. Told through the lens of the accounts of a handful of Texas Rangers and Federal Agents, this book covers a unique and action-packed era in American history. It’s a story that connects the horse and saddle days of the Old West, with the high-octane decade of the Roaring Twenties.

Project Addiction

Project Addiction PDF Author: scott a spackey
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780996891301
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 482

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Book Description
A Comprehensive usable guide to alter the course of addiction. Each specific drug & behavior is examined in detail.Learn how to Customize recovery strategies.

Barking to the Choir

Barking to the Choir PDF Author: Gregory Boyle
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1476726175
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 3

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Book Description
In a moving example of unconditional love in dif­ficult times, Gregory Boyle, the Jesuit priest and New York Times bestselling author of Tattoos on the Heart, shares what working with gang members in Los Angeles has taught him about faith, compassion, and the enduring power of kinship. In his first book, Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion, Gregory Boyle introduced us to Homeboy Industries, the largest gang-intervention program in the world. Critics hailed that book as an “astounding literary and spiritual feat” (Publishers Weekly) that is “destined to become a classic of both urban reportage and contemporary spirituality” (Los Angeles Times). Now, after the suc­cessful expansion of Homeboy Industries, Boyle returns with Barking to the Choir to reveal how com­passion is transforming the lives of gang members. In a nation deeply divided and plagued by poverty and violence, Barking to the Choir offers a snapshot into the challenges and joys of life on the margins. Sergio, arrested at age nine, in a gang by age twelve, and serving time shortly thereafter, now works with the substance-abuse team at Homeboy to help others find sobriety. Jamal, abandoned by his family when he tried to attend school at age seven, gradually finds forgive­ness for his schizophrenic mother. New father Cuco, who never knew his own dad, thinks of a daily adventure on which to take his four-year-old son. These former gang members uplift the soul and reveal how bright life can be when filled with unconditional love and kindness. This book is guaranteed to shake up our ideas about God and about people with a glimpse at a world defined by more compassion and fewer barriers. Gently and humorously, Barking to the Choir invites us to find kinship with one another and re-convinces us all of our own goodness.

An Offer We Can't Refuse

An Offer We Can't Refuse PDF Author: George De Stefano
Publisher: Faber & Faber/Farrar, Straus, Giroux
ISBN: 9780865479623
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 472

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Book Description
The Mafia has maintained an enduring hold on the American cultural imagination--even as it continues to wrongly color our real-life perception of Italian Americans. Journalist and cultural critic De Stefano takes a look at the origins and prevalence of the Mafia mythos in America. Beginning with a consideration of Italian emigration in the early twentieth century and the fear and prejudice--among both Americans and Italians--that informed our earliest conception of what was the largest immigrant group to enter the United States, De Stefano explores how these impressions laid the groundwork for the images so familiar to us today and uses them to illuminate and explore the variety and allure of Mafia stories. At the same time, he addresses the lingering power of the goodfella cliché, which makes it all but impossible to green-light a project about the Italian American experience not set in gangland.--From publisher description.

TIP 35: Enhancing Motivation for Change in Substance Use Disorder Treatment (Updated 2019)

TIP 35: Enhancing Motivation for Change in Substance Use Disorder Treatment (Updated 2019) PDF Author: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 1794755136
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
Motivation is key to substance use behavior change. Counselors can support clients' movement toward positive changes in their substance use by identifying and enhancing motivation that already exists. Motivational approaches are based on the principles of person-centered counseling. Counselors' use of empathy, not authority and power, is key to enhancing clients' motivation to change. Clients are experts in their own recovery from SUDs. Counselors should engage them in collaborative partnerships. Ambivalence about change is normal. Resistance to change is an expression of ambivalence about change, not a client trait or characteristic. Confrontational approaches increase client resistance and discord in the counseling relationship. Motivational approaches explore ambivalence in a nonjudgmental and compassionate way.

Dobermanns

Dobermanns PDF Author: Jay Horgan
Publisher: The Crowood Press
ISBN: 1785003097
Category : Pets
Languages : en
Pages : 545

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Book Description
As a breed, Dobermanns have acquired an unjustified reputation as 'devil dogs' due to their courage, loyalty, intelligence and physical strength. This book aims to dispel the myths surrounding this magnificent dog, and shows how Dobermanns can be loving and gentle family pets, as well as their more traditional role as guard dogs. Dobermanns - a practical guide for owners and breeders traces the development of the breed from its early beginnings in the nineteenth century through to the present day, and offers the reader advice on every aspect of rearing and caring for these beautiful dogs.Topics covered include: The history of the breed; Choosing a dog; Health and welfare; Showing and judging; Breeding. Superbly illustrated with 260 colour photographs.