I chose this book with the intention of not liking it because I am the ex-wife of a drug addict. I expected it to sound like all the other addicts I had heard and felt it would some what be the same as the lies told to me by my ex-husband. I was right but this book did more for me than I imaged. Ted Williams journey although different than my ex-husband the names where different but the stories were the same that he'd told me. I'd heard it all before but this time, I was taking the time to listen. When my ex tried to explain the "why and how" of things I could not get pass 15 min or so because I was hurt. My ex is deceased now, not from drug overdose which I think because of his drug use we always thought would happen. This book allowed me to take a journey with that of a addict the highs and lows but when he said "Acknowleding God made me realize He was out there, and He was watching. It gave me a reason to do right or least try..even if the food came from teh Dumpster." and "When you have no hope of a way out, becausee you have given up on yourself completely, you are truly a homeless man" those words seemed to come from the grave for me. Many times I'd heard the same thing from my ex each he would show back up after 3-4 years absent in my kids life. I thought I'd forgiven him but it was just words...reading Ted's journey made me realize that I hadn't taken the time to really listen to all that he was saying even though I thought I had. I found myself angry and ready to celebrate at times. I put the book down when he would talk of his relapse and having been victim of things stolen I would get angry all over but something kept drawning me back and it was those words of "Acknowledge Him" for my ex use to say it all the time of how in the worst of his conditions he always acknowledge the Lord for seeing him through. The fact that I was a good mother to his two children he said he thank God for that...on and on. There was a part of me that felt I wasn't reading Ted Williams story anymore but my ex's and I was one of the victims in the story. Yet I felt sorry for him and would feel good about how maybe I'd helped a homeless person here and there. The one point that stood out and made me finish the book was one day I had accidently given a man "twenty dollars" and he grabbed my hand and said thank you. I did not pull away but said "bless you" and I really meant it and from that moment on would keep an extra $5 or $10 to give away not caring what they did with it but taking the time to look the person in the eye. When I read that it meant a lot to do that I was determined to finish the book and as I journeyed with him through the various relationships and the betrayal of TRUST and his spiritual journey I really began to enjoy the book, not the nature of it but for the honesty that was being shared. I found myself sitting at the edge of my chair "watching reading" about the crack pipe and remembering the hard choice I made to distance myself from my ex. Yet the redemption part of his story really blew me away because I had heard that from my ex before he died. He would call me every week at the same time and try to explain what happened and how he had changed. I wanted to believe him but just could not get past all the things he'd done, mainly because I loved him. Reading the pages of this book made me realize the hardest thing is to win back someone's trust and to be honest with one's self.I think this book would be great for anyone who has a loved one in their life who is struggling with any kind of addiction as it allows you to see what the "addiction" can do. It can also help you be cautious as to how you try to help them and not become an enabler. I realized the best thing I did was to walk away from my ex otherwise he would have torn my children lives apart. By the time he got clean they were older and did not really have memories of him being addicted only stories of it. I found that the things Ted shared were things that I found myself saying "AMEN" to and "Thank you Lord I followed your direction in leaving". It is a good read for someone who does not have the will or want to listen to maybe their loved ones on how drugs can destroy your life. I think regardless of who wrote what that the fact that "Kathy" tells her side of some of the stories makes an interesting read as there is always two sides to any story. The journey that he is own now is one that will only take time. I think that in reading this I found "true forgiveness" for all the pain and suffering my ex caused me and for that it was worth the price of the book and also I pray for his continued success. If he falls off, then I pray he keeps getting back up because for knowing that his journey has truly been one in which his faith has brought him is nothing short of a miracle. It is not his voice but that he "acknowledge that God gave him the voice." I think it would also be a good book for all those Christians which I consider myself one who think that they are doing a good deed. I agree with him in that you have to truly do it from the heart, with no strings attached. Long before I read his story I believed that and have tried to give with an "open heart" and hearing it makes it all the more real. I recommend this book to anyone who is also a counselor as sometimes they only really see "one-side" of the addict and their training dedicates their views. This book I think will allow them to stand around the the pipe, see what it feels like to betray one friends and that even the best of us can be conned. Blessing to you Ted Willians ..remember a Saint is just a sinner who fell down. LOVE THE BOOK!