Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

The Courage to Surrender
The Courage to Surrender
The Courage to Surrender
Ebook356 pages15 hours

The Courage to Surrender

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars

()

Read preview

About this ebook

My college sweetheart was five months pregnant when we got married at a formal wedding her family planned for us. Times were crazy as I'd graduated from college two weeks earlier and was getting ready to move to a strange city to begin a career. My concerns were where would we live; could I do the job I never tried, and would

LanguageEnglish
PublisherNew Wave
Release dateJan 29, 2020
ISBN9781624077395
The Courage to Surrender
Author

Jack Whalen

Leaving my hometown for college was a dive from all I'd known into a sea of unfamiliarity. Gone were the sports I loved that kept me healthy, my friends who taught me about life via fun and games, and the experiences only found in a small town. I also left a home that I later discovered was dysfunctional. Although I earned an AA and BS degrees, college life showed me a freedom I didn't manage well. My freedom changed me. I married my college sweetheart the week after graduation, which was a month before the Woodstock music festival and three months before our "love child" was born. Full of ambition, I changed IT jobs every few years, staying on the "fast track - high potential" lists from start-up companies to mega-corporations. We started poor but built an American Dream in a few short years. On the outside, we had it all, on the inside I was dying. Drugs and alcohol finally brought me down after decades of hard-partying. In spring 1982, I returned from a long assignment in Singapore, where I stayed clean and sober. I could be myself and loved it. I moved my family out of suburbia to clean up our lives. While I attended A.A., my wife slid into the world of IV drug use. We helped her fight her demons, but that lifestyle claimed her. She chose life in a drug den several miles from us. We were in pain. My single parenting skills were inadequate, but the extra effort by each of us proved enough to get the kids' college degrees. Much of this story is about recovery from lost love, dreams of a better life, and my struggles to conquer my addictions. The evidence shows sobriety is a way of life - not an event.

Read more from Jack Whalen

Related to The Courage to Surrender

Related ebooks

United States History For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for The Courage to Surrender

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings

0 ratings0 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

    Book preview

    The Courage to Surrender - Jack Whalen

    Pabook_preview_excerpt.html}ےƑ@zXӘe)6-ѸVkxUӶ@d,"J&dk4'%G ƆHXK}9Ǐ>G߶8;j uwҥ}ۥR՟B;VoZ}[ڟq vKU<{}_~^{O_=gۃo^~2'77탗nGo߼uӦ[0uMW[f|PMn^pՄՎܹ{xC־UM'Zf7ơ[U7Vn*HByw3YmȦພ+slo6^㻕9Wq yW}y4{W.黃{r7A.RnrPwv3wukAa_za?fƈK/=.Cuj/Z^F.[ ,@eu I.rB~ND~>M+$h\[|ՄӨj1#׹:^+_UyAHO]uLgW7?MzZu\ƍ:6omՍykĩu'Qhâ﹈EavU" - 7^nDey̒-(腠/< WeWK7XB$rbN \w!ݿbz<0DTg%Ҧp k/&$^x|NvS#)[^T|{+(X@n_od]VO*-R]傾O%y֖%苩wС1>5N"R~P N=`W>7! 8b {eL8y]['02~UVwcݩ0L O0@"4QVi̓w?sɾݘ q{/ >?Ac\\MN]\[P0Z}RJسzN/c|,Tزv"nrAh*chj]i&<{UxIE~sݰڼQQ\hL ʽWKx];J7.99uˈv˟}ytS\hyU-,[[T9 $!jRnDnQ%{^n:͖us$)=~GpS-D16 Wm[͞!Ե3mmcƃ1sXD^ BPN/}<,}aw^W_Z"\Xu±^ FiM $6[ 5{w =V }dR |x-`+n?R~/^ߤ1]boU$pC)b ;ELvs7~VO[ϼQM} Fx"u믹!Q:x/+G7{y(59$gRB"MQ| FN[4g'Oq߯E(ed$IA܆h OZ^̌jWE@T{RwEV0F$֡EjO˙w  |DE%7 ;,." DZF<¿/ A ,٦{LR f=S7OOC>y<)92sET{O5G-jEfJPp!Q:o HyyE`[aj oWLU*xɫ'O/'d"PݠߧgRsuc9FeʦrǭDh~S"#x9wϪa^3-D~wC+~\DT,~o-/xn/_G5ͣ];ޯ>HL-kCG~EB$Vь_xQ/CB+z#ZIp󝘙Q>} .>aj.e&ejM~Vɿn4@o@+ycR=ׄdݫ%W^ 6[G?_&p[c K٫l8ON+vM؁xa<"mA$I mNվKTM˟ 3nH81Ƞ^1$b+"fx򲼍ad1L1hXWgV呛/yW>aA„b9Ԉ0xG&'fZ^}ݐ# Y*"ZJrw~h:=Zr/B{+Fs>éZPN"x@#2~%#r,#5Kd'#5^bVZ檖2G0SXwVpF] ^=ZcbCL# 9dyF!d7hQg$/Al|P&OFAn4.ar( Xu+iѳ=^aP2pf,4;RcG⪳gn]7'oE=`*9Jp$ܧol)5Y HพcլäHefϹ1MsK$|!BWS̀ʩ {Hy\"7&mےY`H9Ȫ qtSl4OM*`.osqHuLu%&ᰎ#8oQq!瀪-G̈́5A*1XO֌U FjJἁefj+t?)'Z*c|B/6b jDXo *Ă*B && xB-RlK!SYp5#']--kbУw XXCu4J j3g$"]W_eZaKVPp3vE b#lt(J{PVG*<"d&,XrPĽe KN'\PBTmı3KP.L!1m7i *=V2ex^kGСsը)2b- cԺ hWwJmQ-G98U H<X[aFOj֣9% s wZ>րKLmp$XċN5P@o$s~w:tG}ASp׸70%M9y -aV \vpDH0b`T*`2{SWII(}1 ns]pP%OgO\V@rNxm΅HTaE9'sn,d|1vQ ibr >2\EFz8C9!L9j[\^kxқY;m4hPVFPe= %\uɇnv A#樭×qgt(G7iB98Il2EPn( ΈJʀh0éAb');2E gG<ujtC@m%|>8B[^~@XqĦuѾjOԃBy3t7VEJc' IeT최& }ɻKjv{kLbh$T MӉa*#H߂hhb'*vYWE"=ñuO]GOHYqv|'6=>+Dy!TKs*٢l[V~x3)E5tE&Fպfa#LLATt Q]> e1{MSf p l SLL?M̘$sT_)RAze-J8sr]_@^DRqR==B4QJwګ|xr`79ϤNf}f6m NR(DB#1Q t 4nROiYWF3S"i%w2ȟY{ĕ^I="T9a,ZE@Gvf9'أGSׁLUwq6@I\:˝cr6dѩS:h<ð}ȇa;>L79 IqCK7.$d+iYC|}kGrZWer152Q}}if6]ɺX%eȓL:NL3ۜ"K['o''=S]ڽE^$Dx,||ˤ^k d g%O}Y;1zyq~v33&թ.ݿ+ZYD׽E.J8u[^.;]78Ciz'LK18%@*k,f4U.Jx5I Cwg". K~zܽ1E3a*ɧ Т6s%Uu0EtTgEM:dv.j_9gR/] JO"p$5K}~/4ԘL~\sz/h5]A8c[$ػ=n鯅M{(siO&IFte}[haɳb0{kϕ,4xrK/֭d0Pֻ~ćZf*;DWA=3I?^#M0TD_'uT?66=k@u*aֳcFLy_;b]1ګGmt1<1"y`q'宽[ԗFH3o%kQ3OE6 }؂B3\jkXV Udg &/jJSqU$SB',WJ՗XsC:BYg|_u_*4qtĒ4x9,`g@\FOA'>./Y4+A+3h1-#4.#v!^ʠDt"n ۑ~L)iDxO!Ʀ:"5 #@%1w ;W|4:|)βe9 &Z k ЫUUC[VRiJ>t _fx rD˼nDe!X%ΑHUsĠopŤ"4ݚ{z02Xr]ҙEW7i[*q\@/^ U~BItBzX-Zyu[WewJk$SvUu1tp[x:)|.4s e3pF3:yXGt/%_EϞ#jФaXxV0+e󒦾S]DIhb&Qɱͅ"J|^2V6l^ywi;hjhYt:e+drY2M0Kv x}%=Ѭôf}哐2Rxp7(2 2҇- 4xP5eޤy>][-AKExӧeP*EJF%dBg6i$%7;!IF+U,ZJ ŬЪ۱->Ŕ0ɗ2:dőΨ {6ϖՄ0+@Yy)M-9Ī;{3 焜7[ӷR]3XWՑSjPʱM><t0W!cXZ֓ NzJJoDAL:BHdY2[xO@P3#=jgX@4\u+М['`sEh`W|M]Ӕe Bg}B\tV7kTS C?16#UfH sG5XX~ VO qXo1#÷-<QRAK1I >{E5 xV("kU$%UΥrd,Ǡcaeƪ3Jt m$ܚE px$ȜP$,52oU<Հo FX[ xHU43.KTJ*m ^hhr`^9P0|ClLG*iH*]jZSJP):N$i9"G+[вAfo 0>f O,Dw͹G|N@>] B.FD)6p/s-ifMMLX×a2XQ&9 :9KҺ*taFܯb$:Xr-R/?ZcQ(:>_ i4q ~~9rmۙ‘'I.}COHaU$,e xb"66 {h}d8z:p99u*ǖlR[i [~R}!nv&nuZm'ܳ0B,HUTI?ܽ |r2gݘ>Ў"KE1x ;Bh6~p* \m):xmz0J: g“{gR7k.87e֪p7;5txrUYK@S$uI!l +FKzgB{dT]M,E D'&>l!.ço]{"ef7'uvp\B ڐGvb7~9n:Rdg*NĢ9 sӭ*Wx˝%3n MB5Sr+/BG{xZdI7:ȭL0DRE]Ívڸa|d)/ "9 h|v7zsb qK8ƱH7)b/JWPu .& -ӏ.>j2_p@Oυ"vX#c$p&cJTcp]?Oٰc]ܢK?YZJo`+v{OauHs>N4*cԮmSaB  <Ul!^&nI1Rho;<MkR8'0NۢZKn#u_Q]p;!%``]=m4N{k1/'-ZnDCCI̟x{6^ɝW 1?zsLnIz!g0F7S)PgeF|uN*Ƞ/mSfD`0ʅa MٵgΗX0 cw,^Gi hV|ס?פaR\&βwoIŖd[o?嚗5y
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1