Falling in Love by Stephen Bradlee

Falling in Love is based on a true story. Sherry Johnson would appear to have everything going for her, except one thing - Sherry is addicted to sex. While physically surviving an abusive childhood involving abandonment, sexual abuse, and neglect, Sherry is left with emotional scars so deep that they causes her to "act out" and seek the love she never received from her family in the wrong places. Sherry's life has become one endless cycle of drunken nights and even hazier mornings when she wakes up in yet another stranger's bed.

Desperate for a change, Sherry flees her hometown only to meet Paul and fall head over heals in love with him. Sherry cannot escape her demons and when Paul finds out about her latest indiscretion Sherry flees again, this time to New York City. There she meets Elaine who introduces her to a 12-step program for sexual addiction. As Sherry struggles to face her demons and finally take back control of her life, she meets several women, and a few men, along the way who become the family she never had and support her on her way to sobriety.

I was given this book by the author for an honest review. I really liked this book and think that Sherry is an amazing and inspiring woman. I appreciated that the story was told from her point of view because it made taking this journey with her that much more profound. The story was well written and there were no salacious scenes, which one might expect from a book about sex addiction. Instead the book really focused on Sherry's journey and was handled with the utmost respect.

I was able to relate to Sherry in so many ways, having grown up with a parent who was an alcoholic and verbally and emotionally abusive. While I myself have never lived with an addiction, the scars of growing up with an addict are painfully similar. Sherry acted out, while I avoided anything that might lead me to turn out just like my father. I too know what it is like to feel powerless to control what is going on around you, to feel like you don't deserve the good things in life, and always waiting for the "other shoe to drop." Like Sherry, I strove to attain a level of perfection that was unattainable and hated myself for failing time and time again. It took me a long time to realize that I couldn't live my life for other people and that the only opinion that really matter was my own.

I think that is why Sherry's story is amazingly inspirational. She was able to build herself back up and take back control, despite mistakes and set backs along the way. That's what makes stories like Sherry's so powerful. It's the realization that you are human and that you are going to make mistakes, but that you keep getting back up and make the conscious decision to keep moving forward. Judging by the ending there will most likely be a sequel to this book, and I sincerely hope that there is. I look forward to reading about the next chapter in Sherry's journey.