Review of Dragons to Butterflies
-
Beckey B Davis
- Book of the Month Participant
- Posts: 60
- Joined: 18 Jul 2024, 09:31
- Currently Reading: The vanishing kind
- Bookshelf Size: 14
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-beckey-b-davis.html
- Latest Review: The Satin Moth by Jennie Dodd
Review of Dragons to Butterflies
[Following is a volunteer review of "Dragons to Butterflies" by Johnnie Calloway.]
Dragons to Butterfliesby Johnnie Calloway is a story of how an abusive childhood can affect every aspect of one's life. Johnnie is five years old when his mother goes to the hospital and never comes back home. He is a self-proclaimed momma’s boy, and her death is painful for him. After her death, his home life becomes one of noise, abuse, and terror. He and his sister suffer physical, mental, and sexual abuse at the hands of their father. Johnnie begins to feel that all the family difficulties are his fault and that he is unlovable.
Having had enough abuse, his sister leaves home. and Johnnie is left with his father. He begins acting out at school, becoming the class clown. As adolescence sets in, he becomes more anxious and suicidal. One episode in high-school, lands him in The Boy’s Camp for four months. He thrives in this reform school with it’s rules and regulations and becomes a team leader. Upon leaving, he goes to his sister Jane Ann’s house. He does well there for about four months until the pressure to do the right thing is too much. He begins drinking and doing drugs.
He concocts several schemes to make money. One of those schemes forces him to leave the state to avoid arrest. He doesn’t remember if he went to Kentucky or Illinois. It’s 1977; he’s 19 and suicidal. He goes back to Florida and continues his habits and money-making schemes. This behavior would continue throughout much of his life, thinking one place or person would be better than another.
He meets Lucy, who buys him clothes, gets him a job, takes him to the dentist, and gets him sober. It’s not long before he is back to drinking and drugging. Having grown intolerant of this behavior, Lucy leaves. Johnnie is devastated and in December of 1984, when he was 26 years old, he attends his first 12 Step Meeting. He has finally found a group of people that accept him. He reads the Big Book and is astonished to find that it describes him perfectly. They tell him to attend 90 meetings in 90 days, get a sponsor, and work the steps. He does all of this and begins to trust his sponsor and gain self respect. Meanwhile, Lucy came back, but did not like the new Johnnie and they divorce.
He bounces between Kentucky and Florida, making amends to those he has wronged. An astrologer tells him he should write a book. He was 33 years old and had been sober six years. He cut his. hair, shaved his beard and wrote The Boy & The Monster. He continued to do geographical cures, looking for the right place and/or person to make him feel better. He ends up at a retreat in the mountains, far away from any 12-Step meeting. Without that support, he relapses. At one point, a friend, fearing for Johnnie’s life, takes him to the mental ward. Differing cocktails of drugs are tried, however, none work except the sleeping pills. Upon leaving the hospital , he is anxious, unstable, and not able to work. A friend finds him a bed in a homelesss shelter. He feels safe there for a while, and then his behavior becomes erratic. He goes to a psychiatrist, who diagnoses mental disorders and medication. This course of treatment helps him cope, but he still does not feel safe when alone. Another psychiatrist gives him an updated diagnosis and adds a new medication. This new medication helps him to realize how his behavior has affected other people.
He moves to a 55 & older mobile home park in 2013 and is still there. He met people who talked him into writing another book. And so, it came to life: Dragons To Butterflies. Johnnie spends his time making public appearances speaking about mental health-related issues.
I am going to give this book a 5 out of 5. I am married to a recovering person and this story is very descriptive of how the road to recovery may occur. Johnnie’s story, however, is so intense, that while reading it, I had to take breaks. He not only deals with alcohol and drug addictions, but also issues from mental disorders. I have met many people like him and believe that they are put on earth for a special reason. I liked how truthful his story was and appreciated his endurance in attaining sobriety and coping with his mental disorders.
There was nothing I disliked about this book. It does have several instances of profanity. Therefore, this book is not for anyone who finds this type of language offensive. There was no overt sexual references or descriptions. The editing was good as I found no spelling or grammatical errors.
******
Dragons to Butterflies
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Dragons to Butterfliesby Johnnie Calloway is a story of how an abusive childhood can affect every aspect of one's life. Johnnie is five years old when his mother goes to the hospital and never comes back home. He is a self-proclaimed momma’s boy, and her death is painful for him. After her death, his home life becomes one of noise, abuse, and terror. He and his sister suffer physical, mental, and sexual abuse at the hands of their father. Johnnie begins to feel that all the family difficulties are his fault and that he is unlovable.
Having had enough abuse, his sister leaves home. and Johnnie is left with his father. He begins acting out at school, becoming the class clown. As adolescence sets in, he becomes more anxious and suicidal. One episode in high-school, lands him in The Boy’s Camp for four months. He thrives in this reform school with it’s rules and regulations and becomes a team leader. Upon leaving, he goes to his sister Jane Ann’s house. He does well there for about four months until the pressure to do the right thing is too much. He begins drinking and doing drugs.
He concocts several schemes to make money. One of those schemes forces him to leave the state to avoid arrest. He doesn’t remember if he went to Kentucky or Illinois. It’s 1977; he’s 19 and suicidal. He goes back to Florida and continues his habits and money-making schemes. This behavior would continue throughout much of his life, thinking one place or person would be better than another.
He meets Lucy, who buys him clothes, gets him a job, takes him to the dentist, and gets him sober. It’s not long before he is back to drinking and drugging. Having grown intolerant of this behavior, Lucy leaves. Johnnie is devastated and in December of 1984, when he was 26 years old, he attends his first 12 Step Meeting. He has finally found a group of people that accept him. He reads the Big Book and is astonished to find that it describes him perfectly. They tell him to attend 90 meetings in 90 days, get a sponsor, and work the steps. He does all of this and begins to trust his sponsor and gain self respect. Meanwhile, Lucy came back, but did not like the new Johnnie and they divorce.
He bounces between Kentucky and Florida, making amends to those he has wronged. An astrologer tells him he should write a book. He was 33 years old and had been sober six years. He cut his. hair, shaved his beard and wrote The Boy & The Monster. He continued to do geographical cures, looking for the right place and/or person to make him feel better. He ends up at a retreat in the mountains, far away from any 12-Step meeting. Without that support, he relapses. At one point, a friend, fearing for Johnnie’s life, takes him to the mental ward. Differing cocktails of drugs are tried, however, none work except the sleeping pills. Upon leaving the hospital , he is anxious, unstable, and not able to work. A friend finds him a bed in a homelesss shelter. He feels safe there for a while, and then his behavior becomes erratic. He goes to a psychiatrist, who diagnoses mental disorders and medication. This course of treatment helps him cope, but he still does not feel safe when alone. Another psychiatrist gives him an updated diagnosis and adds a new medication. This new medication helps him to realize how his behavior has affected other people.
He moves to a 55 & older mobile home park in 2013 and is still there. He met people who talked him into writing another book. And so, it came to life: Dragons To Butterflies. Johnnie spends his time making public appearances speaking about mental health-related issues.
I am going to give this book a 5 out of 5. I am married to a recovering person and this story is very descriptive of how the road to recovery may occur. Johnnie’s story, however, is so intense, that while reading it, I had to take breaks. He not only deals with alcohol and drug addictions, but also issues from mental disorders. I have met many people like him and believe that they are put on earth for a special reason. I liked how truthful his story was and appreciated his endurance in attaining sobriety and coping with his mental disorders.
There was nothing I disliked about this book. It does have several instances of profanity. Therefore, this book is not for anyone who finds this type of language offensive. There was no overt sexual references or descriptions. The editing was good as I found no spelling or grammatical errors.
******
Dragons to Butterflies
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: The Satin Moth by Jennie Dodd
