SAVING BOBBY: HEROES AND HEROIN
IN ONE SMALL COMMUNITY

AWARD WINNING MEMOIR

By Renée Hodges

Saving Bobby- Heroes and Heroin in One Small Community

Addiction & Recovery, Biographies & Memoirs

A raw, honest, deeply moving memoir about the difficulties of managing recovery from opioids —the number one killer of American kids age 18–25 — told from the perspective of the addict’s aunt, who took him in and dedicated herself to helping her nephew save himself.

 

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Riveting Story of Redemption and Faith

Reading this book as an independent reader is one thing, but reading it as someone who was in the "small community" is another thing. Words cannot express how Renees' journey has impacted hundreds and hundreds of people - almost every family has an "alcoholic" member - or marries into an alcoholic family. She has opened up the conversation in our area where people are safe to talk about this illness. Her authentic narrative proves how hard it is to break out of the cycle of silence. Only when the problem comes to light can there be hope for the future. Being an addict is inherited, like blue eyes. They don't choose to have the disease. Sometimes we can help, sometimes we can't. But Renee gives us the courage to try. Having buried my own nephew from cirrhosis at 42, my family, too has lived it.

- Becky Wood

A page turner that entertains and informs!

Renee has managed to capture the frustrations and feelings of helplessness experienced by the family of a recovering addict while still writing an upbeat, positive and informative book. Her descriptions are spot on and entertaining and she has mastered the turn of a phrase. The advice and wisdom she shares with her nephew have relevance to all young adults, not just those in recovery. Bravo, Renee!

- K. Krueger

Important story to tell, important story to read

For a book to be appealing, it needs two things--to be well written and to have captivating subject matter. Renee's book, Saving Bobby, knocks it out of the park on both counts. Being familiar with the story, I was still riveted with the raw emotion, honesty and transparency of the book. Renee's use of words, whether describing a feeling or a tangible object, let me immerse myself into her saga. I loved the format of using actual emails to convey conversations. I'm a fan of a happy ending and while not every story is a success story, as evidenced early on by her friend's tragic loss, it gives hope to all who love someone who is struggling with addition and/or mental illness. The biggest takeaway of the book--be honest! Toxic shame is a crippler for the addict and those surrounding the addict. Reaching out for help is a sign of strength. Renee has allowed us to walk her path with her and see what is possible.

- Jeanne J.

A Story You Cannot Forget - Nor Should You

Saving Bobby strikes a chord in all of us: drawn by a larger picture of a frightening epidemic, we are caught in the gripping drama of the personal.  This is a book you cannot put down.  This is a story you cannot forget – nor should you.

– Dee Mason, Journalist, Author, Playwright, and Public Speaker

Heartfelt, Inspiring, and Deeply Moving

...strikingly personal, and lyrically told…engrossing…A heartfelt, inspiring, and deeply moving chronology of substance abuse and enduring, unconditional familial love. 

-Book Review, Kirkus Magazine

Important story to tell, important story to read

For a book to be appealing, it needs two things--to be well written and to have captivating subject matter. Renee's book, Saving Bobby, knocks it out of the park on both counts. Being familiar with the story, I was still riveted with the raw emotion, honesty and transparency of the book. Renee's use of words, whether describing a feeling or a tangible object, let me immerse myself into her saga. I loved the format of using actual emails to convey conversations. I'm a fan of a happy ending and while not every story is a success story, as evidenced early on by her friend's tragic loss, it gives hope to all who love someone who is struggling with addition and/or mental illness. The biggest takeaway of the book--be honest! Toxic shame is a crippler for the addict and those surrounding the addict. Reaching out for help is a sign of strength. Renee has allowed us to walk her path with her and see what is possible.

- Jeanne J.

A Must Read For All of Us

Hodge's straightforward approach, common sense, humor, and honesty bring a heartfelt reality to a growing problem faced by far too many.  This book is a must read for all of us.

-Kim Leversedge, MD, Board Certified Pediatrician

Its Message Provides Encouragement

...the book is also a love story: the story of a woman who refuses to do the convenient thing and give up on her nephew.  Its message provides encouragement for the many families that are involved in the same struggle.

-Ruth Caccavale, Founder, Bull City Book Club, Durham, NC

Teachers and Parents Will Benefit From Reading This

I've seen many young people from every socioeconomic group struggle with substance abuse...Teachers and Parents will benefit from reading this eye-opening account into what might be an unfamiliar reality.

-Denise E. Carr, Junior High, and Middle School Science Teacher

Immensely Moving and Ultimately Uplifting

"Out of her experience with her nephew comes an immensely moving and ultimately uplifting portrait of one American family as it confronts -- and surmounts -- addiction and fear."

-Mimi Lukens, Senior Lecturer at Law, Duke Law School

Life Changing

"The behind-the-scenes story, which Hodges so beautifully described, was gut-wrenching, but for those searching for hope with a family member or loved one, I believe this book could be life-changing."

-Becky Wood, AFLAC, Senior Sales Representative

About Renée Hodges

International book Award winner

My Story

Although her Louisiana roots run deep, Renée Hodges and her husband have called North Carolina home for the past thirty years.

Hodges has worked as a campaign manager for a candidate for the Texas State House of Representatives (she won); front desk person at a ski resort; and volunteer recruiter and registration head during a presidential campaign in New York City.

She also co-wrote and self-published the Best Kept Secrets series of guides in the 1980s.

Settling into motherhood and raising a family has been her most satisfying work, however, and today she is a wife, mother of three, writer, investor, community volunteer, and avid tennis player.

Introducing Bobby

Bobby is your son, your father, your friend. His odyssey began when a helpful physician prescribed OxyContin for a back issue when Bobby was in college. Not realizing that his family history gave Bobby a predilection to addiction, Bobby became an alcohol abuser and opioid/heroin addict before he received his diploma. Years of in and out of rehabilitation centers, pain management programs, and half-way houses followed. It seemed that Bobby could get sober but he could not remain sober.

Providentially, Bobby landed on Renee and Will’s doorstep at the age of twenty-eight to begin again in a new city, with a new plan.

Saving Bobby is the story of how Bobby learned he must save himself. We learned that for Bobby to assimilate back into society, he must shed his shame of his addiction past. It is only with lessening the stigma and shame of addiction can a recoverer recover for life. Saving Bobby is about recovery, about a courageous, gentle, and intelligent young man, who with the help of family and his community, begins to shed this shame. And, while Bobby is transforming, so is his Aunt Renée, learning that family members of addicts must shed their shame as well.

Today, Bobby is a Licensed Master Social Worker, Licensed Addiction Counselor and Activity Therapy Facilitator (2017 Masters of Social Work graduate with a 4.0GPA). He works with individuals struggling with addiction and their families. Bobby has returned to his roots and currently lives in Louisiana. 

Bobby Rayford, MSW, LMSW, LAC, CATF

Amazon 5 Star Ratings

Speaking engagements

Awards

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Hodges’s straightforward approach, common sense, humor and honesty bring a heartfelt reality to a growing problem faced by far too many. This book is a must-read for all of us

– KIM leversedge, md, board certified pediatrician

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Naloxone by Shatterproof

by | May 9, 2019

United States Surgeon General Jerome Adams has issued an advisory urging the public to carry naloxone, and to be prepared to use it. As our country faces an unprecedented drug overdose epidemic, carrying naloxone is a simple step everyone can take toward saving lives...

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reneehodgesauthor@gmail.com