About Finding "IT": Behind the Curtain of Addiction I want to help suffering people reach a point where they can recognize "IT." I want them to see "IT," even smell "IT" coming before it takes control of their thinking. It is my goal to pull back the curtain of their addiction and help reveal to them who or what is controlling their levers This collection of short stories is intended to help suffering people identify what is behind their decision making and the source of their pain. In my story, "The Power of an Encouraging Word," I speak about peeling down to the CAUSE of a situation. I believe we must know the cause before we are able to have an effective solution to our pain. Too often, we choose to escape the pain instead of facing it. In my opinion, escaping is temporary. However, facing it gives us a chance to put together a positive, permanent solution. Two pictures come to mind when I think about addiction. The first one is riding a horse. When we are riding the horse and holding the reins, WE are in control, but if the horse is riding us, we're in trouble. It is BIG, STRONG and extremely heavy, so it might take us somewhere we don't want to go. The second picture I see is going into and being trapped in a dark room. I wrote and published a story, "My Dark Room," which is about this very experience.