A Bridge to the Mainland

This book is not just about me. It’s about life, and relationships with parents, siblings, children, and friends. It’s about addictions, it’s about you, and most importantly, it’s about “Change.” I will be surprised if you need help finding yourself somewhere in this book. I promise you, at the end of the book, life will seem easier. It’s about taking back control of your life. Do not let drugs, alcohol, or people have control of you.

I am not a celebrity. I am a regular person who became addicted to drugs because I didn’t have the courage or the knowledge to take charge of my life and to make positive changes.

The medical center at Duke University in Durham, NC took me on as a “Case History.” I learned so much from Dr. Bernard Bressler, Dr. Joy Bressler, and the other medical staff, and want to share it with you.

In the book, I tell what it feels like to be addicted to opioids. I talk about going through withdrawal and counseling. What happens in group therapy and I share private counseling as well. I have changed the names of the patients, family members, and friends so as not to cause embarrassment. I am not using my real name.

I wrote the initial draft of this book 43 years ago when everything was fresh in my mind. I put the book on the shelf and there it lay for forty-three years, collecting dust, as there was no ending and the time was not right. Now, with the Opioid Crisis, the time is right and the book now has a happy and surprising ending.

I will forever be grateful to Sherry Scollfield and Martha O’Donnell for their help in the final editing of the book. It would have been impossible for me to finish it as I am now on dialysis, battling lung cancer, and struggling with neuropathy in my hands and feet.

★★★★★

Once I started reading A Bridge to the Mainland, I couldn’t put it down. Ms. Knight’s writing style made me feel like I was right beside her throughout her challenges and triumphs. I was saddened when her parents wouldn’t/couldn’t give her the love, attention and praise she desperately needed. I cringed when she decided to marry the wrong man for all the wrong reasons. The details Ms. Knight shares about her years of fear and abuse give the reader a unique window into the heart wrenching decision of leaving a husband and possibly losing her children. It was easy to understand why she fell victim to the use of drugs to numb her pain.

Jo Ann C. Kocher

★★★★★

This book is about hope. It’s about never giving up and stresses the importance of being honest with yourself. The author writes as if she is you or me; she could be your neighbor or a family member.

Reading this book flashed me back to my childhood, to forgotten coping mechanisms in challenging times. It reminded me that my own choices had consequences, some better than others. It reaffirmed that no form of suppression is tolerable in life’s lessons. Positive self-esteem is a right, and as the author shows, our unique gift.

Kelly M. Kronberg

★★★★★

Awe-inspiring book regarding the perseverance and strength that it takes to deal with mental, physical, and emotional abuse. It is raw, honest, and incredibly personal and quite frankly; remarkable. I soundly applaud the author for the strength it takes to come out triumphant in spite of the cards life gives you, for understanding that we are the authors of our own stories, and reaching for that greener grass across the mountains. I am glad you found your mainland.

Karol Bernau