A powerful, heartbreaking, and redemptive account of a boy who endured a childhood of poverty and abuse in an American Southwest trailer park named Cloud 9.
Abandoned by his father at age two, Rick Sylvester lived with an abusive mother whose struggles as a member of the working poor led her to drugs, alcohol, theft, and prostitution--and eventually attempted suicide. Rick battled depression, anxiety, and PTSD as the chaos, neglect, and unpredictability of his childhood seemed to doom him to follow in his mother's footsteps.
Well into adulthood, Rick stumbled through unemployment and divorce, using drugs and alcohol to numb the pain until he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Miraculously, though, he overcame the odds and today is a happy husband and father. How did this happen? Rick's answer is "It was the Lord."
A message of hope to those who are drowning from an undeserved childhood, Leaving Cloud 9 speaks to millions who grew up poor, feeling ignored and hopeless, and who need the healing power of God. This indelibly American story conveys the steadfast love of Jesus and his power to deliver us from the most devastating of pasts.
Ericka Andersen is a freelance writer and the author of the Harper Collins' title, "Leaving Cloud 9: The True Story of a Life Resurrected From the Ashes of Poverty, Trauma and Mental Illness."
She hosts "Worth Your Time" podcast, part of the Christianity Today podcasting network. She has written on matters of faith and culture for the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New York Post, Christianity Today and more.
Her second book is "Reason to Return: Why Women Need the Church and the Church Needs Women" will be released in January 2023 with NavPress publishing.
Ericka is also a wife and mom of two living in Indianapolis, Indiana. Follow her on Instagram @ericka_andersen.