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    I Come from Crazy
    I Come from Crazy
    I Come from Crazy
    Ebook140 pages3 hours

    I Come from Crazy

    By Tia Angelo

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    About this ebook

    In this moving memoir, Tia Angelo takes us on her crazy journey growing up in Staten Island and Brooklyn, New York, with her incredibly dysfunctional family. Living with a mother suffering from alcoholism and prescription drug addiction, having an absentee father, and struggling to cope with the circumstances at home, Tia and her sister were shuttled between aunts, grandparents, and other relatives for most of their childhood. With a mom too sick to care for her children and often hospitalized, Tia witnessed firsthand the effects of addiction and the emotional scars it leaves behind. Hungry for stability, she finds refuge with her girlfriends and their families, spending most of her time in their homes and seeking solace as she navigates her crazy family life. Tia shows us how her desire for normalcy and happiness leads her to explore her inner conflict created by her family of origin. Throughout her journey of self-exploration, Tia has triumphed, coming out stronger and more determined to share her experiences with the hopes to help others find their path.
    With love, courage, forgiveness, and a bit of WTF?, Tia shares her crazy family stories as well as her journey in turning her life around and finding her rainbow in what she calls a life of storms.
    Tia is available for book clubs, select readings, and lectures. You can contact her at iamtiaangelo@gmail.com
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBalboa Press
    Release dateFeb 21, 2017
    ISBN9781504374798
    I Come from Crazy
    Author

    Tia Angelo

    Tia Angelo has been writing and journaling her whole life. She has had a burning desire to write her memoir for many years and it took her a number of years to get the courage to get through the writing process. Her hope is that her story will inspire and heal other women. She lives in Northern New Jersey with her husband and is a proud mom to two grown children. She is a Certified Holistic Health and Lifestyle Coach. She coaches women by fusing nutrition, lifestyle and a spiritual approach, that integrates the mind, body and soul. She is also a motivational speaker, using her story and voice to empower women to live their best lives. Her mission is to support women and create a safe place for them to reclaim themselves and step into their power.

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      Book preview

      I Come from Crazy - Tia Angelo

      I Come

      from Crazy

      Tia Angelo

      Cover illustration by LuAnn Arena

      27221.png

      Copyright © 2017 Tia Angelo.

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

      Balboa Press

      A Division of Hay House

      1663 Liberty Drive

      Bloomington, IN 47403

      www.balboapress.com

      1 (877) 407-4847

      Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

      The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

      Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

      Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

      ISBN: 978-1-5043-7478-1 (sc)

      ISBN: 978-1-5043-7480-4 (hc)

      ISBN: 978-1-5043-7479-8 (e)

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2017902189

      Balboa Press rev. date: 02/20/2017

      Contents

      Acknowledgments

      Introduction

      Part One

      1.   A Girl Born in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York

      2.   My Little World, Staten Island, New York

      3.   The Crazy House, Brooklyn, New York

      4.   Not Your Typical Granny

      5.   The Garden Apartment—Staten Island, New York

      6.   Fifth and Sixth Grade, Staten Island, New York

      7.   Girlfriends

      8.   Astronaut Avenue, Staten Island, New York

      Part Two

      9.   The Good The Bad and The Ugly, Staten Island, New York

      10.   A Love Letter to My Father

      11.   Lost Road, Upstate New York

      12.   My Mother’s Death and Burial

      13.   The Unraveling Somewhat Down State, New York

      Part Three

      14.   Marks Place, Upstate, New York

      15.   New Beginnings, New Jersey

      16.   Forgiveness: The Most Important F Word

      17.   Home at Last: Somewhere in New Jersey

      For my two beautiful children with love

      Acknowledgments

      From the deepest place in my heart, I want to express my gratitude and love to everyone who has loved and supported me in my life and in the birth of this book

      To my big-hearted, husband for quieting my fears and wiping away my tears through this process. Thank you for your endless love and support and for believing in me. I could not have done this without you.

      To my children my greatest gifts in life. Thank you for your unconditional love and your bravery while walking through this crazy life together.

      To my one and only sister, I could not imagine this journey with out you. From day one, we remain forever bonded. I love you more than words can express.

      I do not know where I would be without my extended family. I thank my amazing aunts and cousins for always accepting me. It takes a village, and if it were not for you, I do not know how I would have made it.

      To all of my friends who have loved me through this life and on this writing journey, you know who you are. I am eternally grateful for your love and friendship.

      Writing can be lonely, had it not been for my fur baby Bella always in my lap or by my feet as I wrote.

      Alisia Levitt my amazing writing coach! There is no way I could have completed this book with out you. Thank you for the many sessions we had together. We cried and we laughed and you made me believe this book could be a reality.

      Gabrielle Bernstein, my friend, teacher and mentor thank you for helping me face my fears and thank you for reminding me that the light I see in you is a reflection of my own light. Deepest gratitude to you and your teachings.

      Introduction

      This is the true story of my life—the life of a girl who grew up in a crazy, dysfunctional family, as many of us have.

      This is a story about a resilient girl raised by an alcoholic and drug-dependent mother, who also had a loving dad who tried his best.

      This is a story about a girl who moved often, going to seven schools in twelve years, learning how to be the new girl, and hiding her secrets about her home life while triumphantly climbing her way out of the dysfunction of her crazy family.

      Many people told me that I should write a book about my life because my story is a story that needs to be told.

      Friends and therapists throughout the years have told me that my story is unique, so I should share it with the world. And I have not really shared my story with many people until this point. Even my closest friends never knew what my life truly was—until now.

      I have always loved writing and have kept a journal since the sixth grade. On the school bus on the first day of yet another new school, I was feeling scared and frustrated, so I started writing my feelings in my spiral notebook.

      This is a story about a girl who never had a voice and saw many things that no child should. No matter what occurred in my home on any given day or night, I went to school or out to play with my friends and never said a word to anyone about my life. Maybe I thought it was normal.

      When I got into therapy after my dad’s death, I started sharing my life with my very first therapist, Laura, I told her stories about my life like someone would tell you about a routine day. She looked me in the eye and told me that my story was incredible and far from the norm.

      I stayed in therapy most of my adult life, and years later, my then therapist pleaded with me to write a book. It will be a best-seller and maybe even a movie, she said. So I began to write a few pages about the early years of my life, starting with my very first address in Brooklyn, New York. I began each chapter with the next address I moved to, and that’s how it started to take shape. Although I had to change some of the addresses to get the book published it mostly remains the same.

      I decided to title the book I Come from Crazy. The thought occurred to me after having dinner with one of my dear friends Joy, and her family. At one point during our meal, her son and daughter got into an argument, and her son turned to his sister and said, Let’s stop this. Tia is going to think we’re crazy.

      I turned to him and said, Don’t worry about it, I come from crazy, so there’s nothing you can say that would surprise me.

      After drafting several pages, I decided to show them to one of my dear life long friends. When we were down at the Jersey Shore for a girlfriend weekend. I wanted to show her first because I trusted her; we had been friends for over forty years, and we were both avid readers. I waited patiently while she took the pages back to her room to read. I felt vulnerable but excited.

      She brought them back to me a while later and said, This sounds really good, but you need to embellish more, and that’s when I decided I couldn’t write a book. Doubt and fear took hold of me, and my dream of writing a memoir was snuffed out by those few words. I just didn’t have faith in myself as a writer. My ego had taken that little bit of constructive criticism and had a field day with me.

      The other thing she said was, Wow, I never knew any of this about you. It occurred to me that my life, though very dysfunctional to other people, was just my life. I thought everyone went through it: the craziness, the drugs, the moving from one place to another, the alcohol, the mental illness. And no one knew any of it because I kept it all inside.

      I put the idea of a book out of my head, but I still had a burning desire to write my memoir because I wanted to get my story out there to inspire others. I wanted others to know that if I could make it in this crazy life, so could they. If I could help change the life of even one person and give him or her hope, then it would be worth it.

      The shift came one night while attending a book signing for my spiritual teacher, Gabrielle Bernstein. Her fourth book, Miracles Now, had been released, and she was promoting it. During her talk, Gabby said, much to my surprise, that she had a tenth-grade reading level and that it was amazing she was on her fourth book. At the end of her talk, she referred to someone in the audience who helped her write her book—her book coach. She said this woman had made her words pretty and shiny and bright on the page. It was a light-bulb moment for me. I thought, Someone helped her write her books. What was I thinking to try and do this on my own?

      Several months later, I was invited to a workshop by a local therapist who had just written a book. After her talk and before her book signing, she referred to someone in the audience who helped her write her book, and she mentioned a women by the name of M.J sitting in the back row.

      I made a mental note to get M.J’ s phone number. So I emailed the therapist the next day and called M. J. as soon as I could. I felt the universe was saying, It’s your time. I sat back down at my computer and started writing again.

      It’s been a very cathartic, spiritual, and at times painful journey for me. Being vulnerable is not easy. I cried, laughed out loud and prayed a lot!

      My hope for this book is that it will inspire, uplift, and give hope to you. I want you

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