An American's Resurrection: :My Pilgrimage from Child Abuse and Mental Illness to Salvation

by Eric C. Arauz

You will never be the same after you read An American's Resurrection. The pages will burn in your hands as you move deeper into the book and yourself. An American's Resurrection is a "terminal literature" that speaks to your soul, essence, "self" as you journey in and out of the author's adolescent Hell as he fights for a life of light and love. An American's Resurrection is being called a real-life Silver Linings Playbook that has been backed by national thought leaders as the groundbreaking work on the experience of madness, child abuse, trauma, addiction and Redemption. An American's Resurrection is a unique work as it is being celebrated around the world by readers of every background ,as well as, being used in curriculums at Major Medical Schools, Nursing Schools, Colleges to elucidate the full experience of serious mental illness, trauma, addiction and child abuse and the non-linear recovery trajectory that can take a lifetime. The three part odyssey is a devastating memoir about a veteran that has suffered his entire life and eventually used college to "Come Alive" as he became literate to the world and himself- To become an international mental health advocate and one of the most sought after public speakers in the United States that lives with Bipolar disorder, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Addiction. An American's Resurrection begins in Section 1 Life with the attempt of the author's father to end his life while the father is captured in a psychotic episode bought on by his untreated mental illness. The boy and the father eventually face off on the altar rails of the author's parochial Catholic school. The father emerges from the shadows to stand "eye to eye" with the boy while you and author settle into a fatal stand-off with a monster you both pity, love and hate. Section 2 Death walks you into the maximum-security ward of a Veterans Administration Psychiatric hospital and leaves you there with the author for over 100 pages. You journey into the madness and anguish of being incarcerated in a locked ward and locked mind. You and the author will be strapped down in four-point restraints three times and for over 24 hours. You will scream and beg for release and receive no mercy...as the author dies his psychic death...crucified at the feet of the mental health system. Neither you nor the author will walk out until Section 3. Section 3 Resurrection walks you out of the hospital as the author tries to Come Alive. He has lost the "feel" of life and will either completely build a new spirit, a new soul and new being or he will die like his father...another veteran that perishes on the streets of the country he fought for and now died for as a Domestic POW. Section 3 shows how the author used college and the greatest writers of all time to build his own philosophy for life while he escorts his hero, his stepfather, to his death. The author will journey deep into himself as he challenges his greatest fears and eventually returns to his "hell", back at the VA hospital, to confront his dead father and make amends with the memory of a man that has dominated his entire life.

Genres: Psychology

356 pages, Paperback

First published November 19, 2012

Reviews

[Kitt O'Malley · Rating 5 out of 5]

On November 9, 2014, I had the pleasure of hearing Eric Arauz's presentation on Conscious Storytelling at the International Bipolar Foundation's Annual West Coast Meeting. He gave us each a copy of his autobiography, An American’s Resurrection: My Pilgrimage from Child Abuse and Mental Illness to Salvation, which I greatly enjoyed reading. The first thing I did once I grabbed a copy of his book was to check out his End Notes and his Arauzian Original Concepts. I was impressed and immediately knew I was going to like a guy who referenced Dante, Hesse, St. Augustine, Camus and Emerson among other great minds. This guy is an intellectual powerhouse. As I reading his book, I was most impressed by the quality of his writing. For those of you who love well-crafted story-telling with an intellectual punch, read his book. For those of you who live with bipolar disorder or who are survivors of traumatic psychiatric hospitalizations, this is a must read. Arauz is a man on a mission. His mission is to spread the message to sufferers everywhere that resurrection is possible. Thank you, Eric Arauz, for answering the door when your resurrection knocked.