Toronto ON, April 2021 — What was it like growing up as a smart girl in a world of 1970s suburban conformity? What family secrets were hidden behind the vertical blinds and sliding glass doors, or swept under the orange shag carpets? Is it possible to move from married mother-of-two to lesbian feminist activist without passing heartache?

In her bittersweet memoir, Mary Fairhurst Breen sketches scenes from a life darkened by four generations of mental illness and addiction. Despite the odds, Mary’s sense of humor and willingness to practice “radical acceptance” see her through the chaos to a life full of friends, art, and the joys of being a grandmother. Ultimately, she must face her greatest challenge of all when her daughter becomes one of the tens of thousands of people every year to die of opioid poisoning. This is a journey of awakening and activism, and a portrait of a life to be celebrated in all its complexity.

Key Selling Points

• A beautifully written memoir that takes you through the chaos of four generations of devastating mental illness, and illuminates how Mary Fairhurst Breen avoided being devastated.
• This memoir puts a face to the opioid epidemic, bringing an overwhelming public health crisis into focus.
• Mary wrote an opinion piece for the Globe and Mail in February 2021: "I can live in the moment when my granddaughter takes my hand"
• Mary wrote an essay and appeared on CBC's Sunday Edition in May 2020: "A Mother's Story of Mourning in Isolation"

What was it like growing up as a smart girl in a world of 1970s suburban conformity? What family secrets were hidden behind the vertical blinds and sliding glass doors, or swept under the orange shag carpets? Is it possible to move from married mother-of-two to lesbian feminist activist without passing heartache?

In her bittersweet memoir, Mary Fairhurst Breen sketches scenes from a life darkened by four generations of mental illness and addiction. Despite the odds, Mary’s sense of humor and willingness to practice “radical acceptance” see her through the chaos to a life full of friends, art, and the joys of being a grandmother. Ultimately, she must face her greatest challenge of all when her daughter becomes one of the tens of thousands of people every year to die of opioid poisoning. This is a journey of awakening and activism, and a portrait of a life to be celebrated in all its complexity.

A bittersweet memoir of "radical acceptance," filled with scenes of courage and activism, from a life in the shadow of four generations of mental illness and addiction.