Memoir, The Sun is Gone; A Sister Lost in Secrets, Shame and Addiction by Service Mask Supply Owner Jodee Prouse

Whether that awful situation is a result of a horribly dysfunctional family, chronic drug or alcohol addiction, sexual or verbal abuse, raising a disabled or autistic child, the pain of a disintegrating marriage and divorce, the responsibility that comes with parental healthcare decline, a jailed or arrested partner or some other trauma?

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, amidst 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.

Her story begins as a child where she becomes her sweet little brother's protector as her alcohol-fueled father rages in the night. The daughter, grand-daughter, step-daughter, daughter-in-law, sister-in-law, niece, great-niece, aunt, cousin and ultimately sister to alcoholics, she becomes the one pillar of strength in her immediate household. Eventually starting her own family with a loving husband and two children, Jodee remains her brother, Brett's best friend and safe harbor.

But as his drinking becomes apparent, grows worse and more self-destructive, Jodee is drawn into a maelstrom of pain, co-dependence, and battle of wills with her other family members. Her deep love for her brother propels her forward to make choices and sacrifices that are disempowering for herself, Brett and others.

Yet, finally, despite excruciating emotional pain, she comes to realize that she must put herself and her husband and children first-and set boundaries-that she cannot fix someone else's life. For anyone dealing with an addictive family member, this experience will especially resonate.

But today, Jodee Prouse asserts that the need for women to take back the control over their own lives - and disengage from the maelstrom within a family crisis -- to no longer be an enabler -- is universal.

And that's the deepest form of love and understanding. Jodee inspires people to: LEARN. ACCEPT. FORGIVE. HEAL.

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