Read this book and you will agree that if there ever was any One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo s Nest, it had to be Al Dickens the author of this book. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. Even nature produces the uncommon or the unique at one time or another, like the duckbill platypus. So it is with this book; it is a genuine paradox. It is strange, but true, that this book is filled with sane and sober truths that are presented in a most compassionate manner though at times it may tug at the hemline of our old and ragged ideological garments and worn out customs. Yet, it is never offensive. Uncle Yah Yah, you will agree it was a labor of love.

Rudy Hawkins the reporter from the Essex Forum News is on his way back to visit with Uncle Yah Yah. Little does he know that his whole life is about to change. Rudy thought that his first visit with Yah Yah was a blast that took him out of what is called the ordinary life. The life changing things he learned on his first meeting with Uncle Yah Yah was nothing in comparison to the atomic bomb he is about to receive. He is given a second manuscript with more pages than the first. It also contains a surprise . . . a secret letter that could only be explained as something from out of this world.

The purpose of this book is to introduce a true introspection of the inner workings of the mind and reality of the author and his journey from poverty, drug addiction, mental illness, imprisonment and homelessness to a successful self-made expert and professional entrepreneur in the field of mental/behavioral healthcare and addictions services. The book is a testament that treatment when empathic, genuine, spiritual, eclectic and most important, culturally sensitive, works. This book is the authors testimony that recovery is not only possible but limitless. The author has studied and learned from some of the best minds in his field and has developed a style and approach to treatment all his own. He is the founder and chief executive officer of a State Licensed Ambulatory Care Center that has evolved into a comprehensive system of care from prevention/intervention to tertiary care and recovery supports. This book is the beginning of the recording of a transformative phenomenon that will be used to save hundreds of thousands even millions of lives. This book is a part of the author’s mission. Which is to see a day when treatment for mental illness, behavior healthcare and substance use disorder is no longer needed and health, wellness, fairness, equity, safety and righteous human conduct is commonplace. Please read this book, keep an open mind and enjoy the journey to New Life!

The stories in the collection concern a typical suburban, public high school. Typical is the operative word. Tax money poured in by the local community for extraordinary services provided to all school-age children. Money spent everywhere: acclaimed educators hired, spectacular facilities built, resources like computers and laboratory equipment acquired, extra-curricular activities created, yet the outcome? Academic failure, violence, drugs, gangs, and, drop-out rates approaching fifty percent. There is the result! Why? Where has the money gone? The resources gone? The stories provide a glimpse and a few answers. There are portraits of students, teachers, and, school administrators. In these you can figure the reasons for the failures. Often, the failure is a combination of forces, the kids themselves, instability of parents and extended families, poor teachers and administrators, and, a bureaucracy gone wild. To pinpoint any one cause as a reason for the school's record is difficult at best.

When Donald Trump speaks and tweets, the world holds its breath. He vents his spleen at anything and anyone at anytime. His use of social media to message his innermost thoughts and often galvanize his, (as Hilary puts it) 'Basket of Deplorables' following, makes for unmissable reading, no matter what your political views.