Title:  Choosing Life: One Man’s Journey Through Alcoholism and Depression to Wellness and Self-Discovery
Author:  Blue Andrews
Publisher:  Luminare Press
ISBN:  978-1643880037
Pages:  230
Genre:  Memoir
Reviewed by: Barbara Bamberger Scott

Read Author Interview

PBR: What was the inspiration for the story?
I’ve received many gifts in my life. I have the most amazing wife. I have family and friends that are so supportive. And I was given a passion to write, a gift that drags along others such as reading, observation, curiosity, and empathy. As I began the healing process to get out of depression, I realized writing was going to play a factor in my recovery. Not too long after that I thought that maybe, just maybe, my writing might be able to help someone else too.

PBR: What is the key theme and/or message in the book?
Depression is hard to understand if you’ve never had it. It’s hard to describe even if you have. Same with substance abuse or any other non-physical ailment. There is no test that gives us measurements or markers to indicate the sickness we have, and the degree of its severity. I wanted those who don’t have experience with these issues to better understand them.

I also wanted someone who is going through a non-physical health issue to know that I understand. Someone out there understands. Someone else has been through some really tough times too, and they have made it out.

Some of the key themes are specific to men like myself, athletes and businessmen who measure themselves through material possessions or external recognition. I discuss my experience with discovering the difference between self-confidence and self-esteem, and then gaining my own self-esteem.

Other themes are more universal, such as loss and grieving. We all experience loss, but we don’t embrace the grieving. Grieving can be such a powerful, positive process in the long term, but it is hard to go through. I hope to raise the visibility of the importance of grieving and help give people the freedom to go through it.

There are so many themes in this book, but overall, I would just say that the two parts of the book speak for themselves. There are many ways people fall down, and many ways they get back up. My journey talks about some of them.

PBR: What do you hope your readers take away from this book?
Some of this is mentioned above. I tried to stay away from providing a moral for my stories. Everyone is going to take away their own thing from my life experiences. Or it may not move them at all. If anything, I wish for this to be a book of hope.

PBR: What is the significance of the title?
Choosing Life is such a positive, affirming two-word set. It doesn’t matter if someone bends the cover back and starts turning the pages. Choose life, and many other good decisions can fall into place.

PBR: Tell us about the process for coming up with the cover.
I worked with the graphics people and my editor at Luminare Press. I shared some of my ideas – match the colors of my website Creeds Living, take advantage of my name, keep it simple, not a lot of pictures or images. One of my favorite sayings is: “Saltwater cures everything. Tears. Sweat. The Sea.” So, between my name and that saying, use the colors of the sea. Luminare just took it from there. They came up with ideas for the title and both the back and front covers. Just a really great group to work with. I think they nailed it.

PBR: What were the key challenges you faced when writing this book?
Turning a huge number of words that were pretty much a biography into a memoir composed of themes. Deciding what was truly important and what was periphery. Removing judgement from my storytelling. Show don’t tell. Let the reader decide what those words mean to them. I worked with a writing coach, Bill Kenower, for a long time trying to understand the importance of those ideas. I hope my book proves I learned something.

Once I found my writing style, the big challenges were time and timing. I have four kids and a wife that works more than full time. They are my priority. I also had two people who were very close to me, big foundations in my life, die within about a year of each other. That pushed aside most any creative juice I had flowing for a couple of years.

PBR: What was the highlight of writing this book?
When my developmental editor, Corbin Lewars, thought I should seek a publisher and really promote the project. Such confirmation.

There were so many little highlights that just involve writing. The satisfaction of feeling like I picked the right words in the right order to get my point across. That maybe, just maybe, a reader would be able to see the setting and feel the emotions as I had. That there was a chance that my words, positioned in a particular manner, might cause a positive response in someone else. That is what kept me going day in and day out. That was the fun part.