Somewhere In Between: A TRU Journey Through Sex, Drugs, Alcohol & Everything In Between

By Julia Garcia

A courageous and honest journal of a young woman’s life—as she examines the person she was, and the person she aspires to be.
 
Somewhere In Between takes you into the author’s journey as she travels through the world of sex, drugs, alcohol, and everything in between. It’s a unique collection of personal stories, journal entries, and powerful, self-expressive photography, which were all created to help her cope with the loss of loved ones, her parents’ divorce, family addictions, and her own battles with addiction and depression.
 
From the founder of the TRU nonprofit organization and a popular speaker, Somewhere In Between is an inspiring account of the challenging and rewarding search for one’s own truth, and the quest for healing.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Apr 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781614481737

Book preview

Prologue

As a child you always know who you are.

I can recall a story my mother loves to tell me about my preschool graduation ceremony. As the story goes, my teacher went around to each child in the class and asked what they wanted to be when they grew up. Students looked up at their parents, smiled and shouted A teacher or A firefighter while their parents proudly cheered and took pictures of their like-minded children.

It wasn’t until the teacher rolled around to me that the sweet applause turned into hysterical laughter.

So what do you want to be when you grow up Julia?

I want to work in a hospital, I confidently responded.

Well what do you want to do in the hospital? Do you want to be a doctor?

No, I politely responded.

Do you want to be a Nurse?

No, I said again.

Well what do you want to be then?!

I want to OWN the place, I yelled back confidently.

Cue in the awkward silence that filled the room, which was directly followed by thunderous laughter at the expense of my innocent na ·ive ·té

For, as a young person, we are fearless and free but similar to the way our eyes adapt to a dark room, our visions of who we are become tainted by the inevitable complexities and negativity of the adult psyche. As we grow older we begin to allow society to categorize us into false representation of who we are, or who we should be. Inevitably, we lose our identities to the expectations of others. We lose our selves.

There was never a day I woke up and shouted, I want to be an addict! I want to be an alcoholic! I want to be a person who suffers from depression!" There is always a process to such adaptive functions. This book exposes my personal accounts of such a transformation. It represents the collection of small, and large, moments in my life that contributed to the adaption of my self-destructive behavior into, what I soon perceived as, the norm of my functionality. This book was my way of finding a way back to that young girl within me, the one who believed anything was possible, the who believed SHE was possible.

Our journeys traveling through such uncharted waters we call ‘the self’ may, often times, be dark and feel lonely but I hope, with all of my heart, that you never give up on yourself. Your journey is a part of your story, however painful it may be. It’s the roadmap that will lead you towards the unconditional love and beautiful life that you deserve. Above all, it’s what will guide you back towards your TRU self.

To a world in which you have yet to discover—May you let your own light, shine through.

"It only takes one person to change your life- YOU"

—Ruth Casey

IMPOSSIBLE

Introduction

Strutting into a crowded room she throws back her shoulders, lifts her chin, and smiles widely through her eyes. She struggles to fill her lungs with as much air as they can hold, before slowly releasing it…one…two…she is bombarded by high status socialites.

One drink after another, the faces surrounding her became blurred into false representations of a good time.

If she leaves now she can escape the immoral decisions that lay ahead, but not after one more drink.

She hits the floor before she is able to discover that the door has just been slammed shut behind her.

It’s cold outside and her fingertips stumble to button her coat.

Men beg to take her back to their place where they can try and comfort her through her disarray, but she is no longer in the mood to entertain.

She steals a light that ignites her nightly nicotine fix and winks back at the men who fall like snow behind her, disappearing into one another; reminding her that they’re all the same.

Head down and eyes mirroring the reflection of small puddles filling the streets below, she looks away trying to avoid facing herself.

Headphones drown out the sounds of the outside world and take her to that place, her place, her sanctuary.

She is alone, but never lonely. At least that’s what she tries to convince herself.