How to Breathe While Suffocating: A Story of Overcoming Addiction, Recovering from Trauma, and Healing My Soul - Hardcover

by Bruce W. Brackett (Author)

Let go of negativity, rediscover your inherent worth, and unlock your true potential

How To Breathe While Suffocating is your antidote to the all-too-common tendency to surrender, giving up on your life's ambitions. You don't have to give up! For anyone who has gotten caught in the trap of "I can't do it," this book reminds you that you are enough, you possess value, and your unique ability to engage with the world can and will get you to where you want to be. Through simple positive affirmations, unflinching first-person stories, and insightful analysis, author Bruce W. Brackett helps you focus on the positive and keep moving forward.

Society today is experiencing a hidden pandemic of loneliness, disconnection, and resistance to recovery. After the life-altering shutdowns of COVID-19, many of us have simply remained in shutdown mode. This book uses universal concepts, expressed through engaging narrative, to help you grapple with issues like mental health, isolation, gender identity, disconnection, and the overwhelming sense of negativity for our collective future. By the end, you'll learn to turn it around and get back to the business of living. The message of How to Breathe When Suffocating is simple--spread love, inhabit joy, and embrace the power of positivity.

• Gain the inspiration you need to seize your potential, find confidence, and step into your authentic self
• Change your outlook on life with simple slogans and mantras for developing a healthier, more positive attitude
• Realize that you aren't alone in your struggle, and see how others are finding the strength to move forward in difficult times
• Read the compelling story of one man who overcame insurmountable odds and found salvation from negativity and self-doubt

After a two-decade healing journey of intensive trauma therapy, psychiatric treatment, and rehab, Bruce W. Brackett has emerged a survivor. Anyone in the midst of their own healing journey will resonate with benefit from his lived experience, portrayed here with intimate vulnerability and universal appeal.

Front Jacket

Collectively, we've been going through a rough time. Between the global COVID-19 pandemic, concerns about the future of our planet, and the economic difficulties many are facing, it's no wonder that we're having a hard time finding the energy to carry on. How to Breathe While Suffocating is a lesson in how to recover that energy, find our way to our passions, and start living life once again.

Inside, motivational speaker and social media personality Bruce Brackett tells all, revealing how he overcame abuse, neglect, bullying, addiction, and more. It wasn't an easy road, but along the way he learned some truly invaluable lessons. This book--at once a deeply personal account and a universally applicable guide--is like a shortcut for readers on their own healing and recovery journeys. What Brackett learned the hard way, we can learn the easy way, thanks to his unflinching new book.

This book is excellent for anyone who is struggling to get back to their pre-pandemic motivation levels, who is on the road to addiction recovery, or who may just feel a sense of emptiness and lack of purpose in life. Brackett distills the lessons learned on his own bumpy road to fulfillment, presenting his story and weaving in easy-to-remember mantras that make How to Breathe While Suffocating a valuable source of inspiration.

Best of all, readers will learn that they aren't alone as they work overtime just to stay afloat in troubled times. Sometimes what we need most is understanding and compassion, and Bruce Brackett provides just that. As we relate this story to our own experiences, we can begin to break out of our self-isolation, realizing that we, too, can step back into the world and go after our dreams.

Back Jacket

PRAISE FOR
How to BREATHE WHILE SUFFOCATING

"Vulnerable and raw, Brackett's autobiographical narrative takes you on a metamorphic journey from trauma to triumph, as his story of abandonment and addiction reveals a path from self-doubt to self-discovery. With resilience, he shows how tragedy can become an opportunity for growth."
--MY MENTAL HEALTH INC.

"Let's be clear. Bruce is a survivor in the highest order! There's a Buddhist saying that you can turn 'poison into medicine'. Mr. Brackett has done just that with their life. I felt like I was right there in parts of his life through the detailed writing as he painted a picture of incomprehensible poverty and mental illness and through their triumph against seemingly insurmountable odds. It's a story hard to be believed. And yet, alive and well, Bruce stands."
--JAMES T. LANE, Broadway Star

"Bruce Brackett delivers an authentic story filled with moments of overcoming adversity and moments of triumph. This is an inspirational read that motivates oneself to help others, to look for the possibilities, to dream big and to become your own best advocate."
--CHRISTIAN PARKER, Founder, Gay & Sober

"Bruce is a star that sparkles as brilliant as Alpha Centauri. Despite the odds and all the danger that he lived through--he is a survivor. BWB took control of their life that was in shambles and asked for help and got the help that he needed. Thank you BWB for being a light in our lives. His will to live and thrive is a miracle. Now remember to breathe and keep moving forward."
--MICHAEL ALAGO, Author, Photographer, Music Executive

Author Biography

BRUCE W. BRACKETT is a certified motivational speaker and social media personality, creating mental health and positivity content. Having overcome abuse, neglect, emotional trauma, mental and physical health diagnoses, developmental disabilities, and addiction, Bruce has transformed his existence and continues to share his message of positivity with those experiencing similar challenges.