This is a story of overcoming adversity, in many of its' galvanizing forms. Addressed are: domestic abuse, childhood trauma, betrayal, combat, post-traumatic stress, nervous breakdown, alcohol and drug abuse, multiple failed relationships and murder...all culminating in a process of ongoing recovery. It is a story that most people can draw on, comparing to their own tribulations. It is an offered hand to hold in climbing out of behaviours that have come to define a side-tracked life. What is provided here is an example of emerging through the ravings of lunatics, to the melodies of angels. It is constructed on a secular approach to faith, and a relinquishment of fear to action. Standing Alone, each of us can turn the tide within ourselves. Without proselytizing, and a notable dearth of formalized religion, any person can touch the Kingdom of Heaven within them. We only need to begin by taking a long look at ourselves, while committed to change our own lives. Standing Alone represents a six-decade, real-life journey through the life of the author. What makes it worth reading, aside from the compelling story itself, are a combination of refreshing honesty, underwritten by numerous gripping passages...complemented by a well-handled dialogue through many dramatic incidents which unfold as you walk through his life...in his shoes. Objectivity is central when relating specific actions and attitudes that caused pain and sorrow. The over-riding value in the telling of this story is to relate with the life of the reader. The central goal originates from the desire to extend hope to others, who find themselves besieged by over-whelming issues in their own lives. It is meant to demonstrate our innate human ability to recognize adversities as merely setbacks along the path to our ultimate fulfilment...that we are the authors of our destinies...that through these horrible experiences there will be some who will find an anchor point in dealing with their own. All people live with disappointment and tragedy. Many are, in some measure, devastated by events which derail their goals; while challenging assumptions they have held about themselves. Painful impacts of change, seeming outside our ability to accommodate, threaten the fulfilment of harvesting absolute contentedness from the brief time we are allocated on this planet. Ten steps forward, only to be shocked back nine, often define our lives. "Standing Alone is a true story. Initially, I was writing it in the Third Person. There were so many things from my past I was ashamed to reveal...such as thought processes that defined stages of my life and events which sprang from them. There have been notable changes which have redefined my character through the years. It was at a point of strong self-admonishment that I re-wrote this book...in the process stepping to the plate, in the full light of day, to reveal my weakness's, errors and darkest passages for you to consider...In the First Person Certain chapters reverberate with graphic and disturbing events, which you may feel to be far too unsettling. If you find this to be true for you, skip through those, but stay with the story. The reason I took so many brief side-trips in this book was to put you not only into my shoes, but to put you into my thoughts as well, at the time events occurred. So, I told my story from the perspective of who I was at the time. I added only glimpses of how I have come to think, now. As you progress through the chapters you will see how my changes began and developed...as no doubt have yours." Jeff Bogue