Starfish

In 1982, Donna George is no longer a California free spirit; she's a hardcore heroin addict, incapable of mothering her two young daughters. When she's arrested for prescription forgery, she must choose between jail and Sunflower House, a mysterious long-term rehab that local addicts speak of with dread. Donna fears the confrontational program, but nothing else has worked. To make it through Sunflower House and get her children back, she will have to fight for her life. She has to allow Staff to break down her walls, so that she might become reachable. In STARFISH, Donna writes unflinchingly of her journey to recovery. She reveals how she abandoned her children in the pursuit of drugs, and shows how tough love broke through her denial. An intimate, gritty, and inspiring story. "A courageous, literary gift to the reader that provides an extraordinary look into pain, forgiveness and ultimately the kind of redemption that lifts the soul and saves us all from losing our compassion." -Stacey Remick-Simkins, English Department, George Mason University