Kicking the Darkness, a remarkable memoir, serves as both a warning and an inspiration to readers, chronicling great personal tragedy and triumph over adversity. Although the stories within these pages may occasionally elicit tears, other accounts will put a smile on your face. This is the true story of a genuine person who decided at his earliest recollection to persevere over everything that was thrown at him... even death. It makes the profound statement that life can be incredibly difficult for all, and so we have to remember that, in order to overcome our challenges, we must never stop kicking at the darkness. About the Author: Shane Christensen has always had a steely determination to survive, which is the result of personal tragedy. Parental alcoholism and severe violence deeply affected him during his childhood. His older brother suffered with a serious mental illness for eighteen years, culminating in suicide when he was thirty-one years old. Ten years later, Shane's middle son began to exhibit symptoms of a mental illness that were similar to what his uncle had experienced years before. Shane and his wife worked diligently to ensure their son received the medical attention he needed, in spite of a number of great challenges in the "system." Eventually their efforts were rewarded when their son realized a miraculous stability that brought peace and joy to their lives. They began to travel extensively and had recently become grandparents when the unexpected happened. After a lifetime committed to exercise and healthy living, Shane suffered a massive heart attack two weeks after his fifty-fifth birthday that could have ended his life. As he recovered from his near-death experience, he felt an overwhelming drive to write about his health crisis to warn others of the risks of high cholesterol. This eventually expanded into a memoir chronicling his entire life so that his story of survival would serve as a source of hope to those struggling with mental illness or personal adversity. Shane and his wife have been married for more than thirty-seven years and live near Toronto. He advocates for a greater understanding of mental illness and promotes heart health topics of discussion.
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