Quentin Vennie - Strong in the Broken Places: A Memoir of Addiction and Redemption Through Wellness

Quentin Vennie rose up against all odds and everyones expectations, including his own. In a standoff with his inner demons, he chose a path outside of his current reality and found himself a completely new existence, aligned with his deepest desires to rise. Quentins raw sharing of his incredible story inspires us to make the changes today we want to see in our lives.

TARA STILES, founder of Strala Yoga

Quentin is a true phoenix. His wrenching story documents a broken man who has been burned in so many ways, yet has refused to be held down. His determined fight to rise from the ashes and be born again is guaranteed to inspire and ignite inspiration in anyone who reads it.

Kathryn Budig, author of The Womens Health Big Book of Yoga and Aim True

This book is intended as a reference volume only, not as a medical manual. The information given here is designed to help you make informed decisions about your health. It is not intended as a substitute for any treatment that may have been prescribed by your doctor. If you suspect that you have a medical problem, we urge you to seek competent medical help.

The information in this book is meant to supplement, not replace, proper exercise training. All forms of exercise pose some inherent risks. The editors and publisher advise readers to take full responsibility for their safety and know their limits. Before practicing the exercises in this book, be sure that your equipment is well-maintained, and do not take risks beyond your level of experience, aptitude, training, and fitness. The exercise and dietary programs in this book are not intended as a substitute for any exercise routine or dietary regimen that may have been prescribed by your doctor. As with all exercise and dietary programs, you should get your doctors approval before beginning.

Mention of specific companies, organizations, or authorities in this book does not imply endorsement by the author or publisher, nor does mention of specific companies, organizations, or authorities imply that they endorse this book, its author, or the publisher.

Internet addresses and telephone numbers given in this book were accurate at the time it went to press.

2017 by Quentin Vennie

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any other information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher.

Book design by Amy King

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file with the publisher.

ISBN-13: 9781623368227 hardcover

ISBN-13: 9781623368234 e-book

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RodaleWellness.com

TO MY MOM, CHRIS, AND JAYDEN
I HOPE IM MAKING YOU PROUD.

The book you are now holding in your hands is something of a miracle. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that its a miracle Im alive to write it. Considering where I was not that long ago, the fact that Im still hereand able to tell my storyfeels like a miracle to me.

Strong in the Broken Places is not a typical wellness book because I didnt live a typical wellness life. I grew up in a world where certain things were valued and others werent, where we had access to things like liquor stores, fast food, and minimum wage jobs but were excluded from the things we really needed, like quality healthcare, financial literacy, and first-rate educations. When I faced problems, I solved them in the way I was taught: Suck it up. Stay strong. Fight back. Pain was something everyone had to deal with but no one ever talked about; you gritted your teeth and pushed through it. Thats just how it was.

And it seemed to work for a long time. Until it didnt.

I stumbled across the wellness world at a moment of deep desperation. I was addicted to prescription medication and was drinking too much. I was depressed, with no faith that I could break the downward spiral I was trapped in. It was a completely random turn of events that put yoga, meditation, and juicing in my path, but it is no exaggeration to say that they saved my life.

Out of desperation, I reached for something that could lift me up and give me the strength to be a new person. This is the story of what I found and how it impacted my life in a sudden and powerful way. This book doesnt offer a traditional path to healing or wellness because thats not the one I tookI had to create my own.

As a black man raised in an impoverished neighborhood by a single mother, I was not exposed to even the most basic forms of health and wellness. For me and my mother, survival had a decidedly different connotation. For many people who grew up like I did, wellness is viewed as a luxurysomething to maybe embark upon once the bills were paid or during a free Saturday, if they had one. But thats not true at all; it was my commitment to being a healthy personinside and outthat brought me back from the brink.

The sad fact is that communities like the one I grew up in could benefit the most from having exposure to the power of wellness, whether through diet, exercise, yoga, or meditation. Growing up in my community, wellness was not a thing I saw in my neighborhood. It was not instilled in me by my parents, and it wasnt encouraged by my peers. It wasnt on any of our radars.

Wellness tools of all kinds are seldom available in the communities that need it most. My goal is to shed light on how society neglects the people and communities that need wellness initiatives, while providing them with something they were never givennot just access, but a reflection of themselves: someone just like them who went through it. I had to take charge on my own, discover the tools for myself, and apply them to my life without any sense of where I was going or whether Id make it.

Im a person of faith, and I dont hesitate to say that it was divine intervention that saved me, delivering these tools when I needed them to keep myself breathing. My mission is now in spreading that healing power, working to bring yoga, meditation, and other wellness tools to underserved communities. The forgotten neighborhoods and populations need it more than anyone, yet they are the ones who have the least access. Im trying to do my part to change that.

There are some fantastic books out there for readers looking to embark on the journey of wellness, but there are virtually no books that approach health and healing from a perspective like mine. I know because I looked for them when I needed them the most.

Im hoping to fill that gap. To tell the story of healing from a perspective of an outsider who had the need, but didnt see the way out. Not until right before the train was about to hit me.

Though I hope my story can offer some inspiration or assistance, this book is not a guide. It is my personal story. I can only hope that its very existence is a thing of value.