In 2004, Valerie Silveira's 18-year-old daughter was shot by her ex-boyfriend. Over the next decade, Jordan's life spun further out of control and, as a result, Valerie's plunged into darkness. She would face the heartbreaking reality that her daughter is a heroin addict, and the painful truth that she is powerless to save Jordan from her Drug Addiction Beast.

Are you living with a Beast? They come in all shapes and sizes. Some arrive because of an alcoholic or addict in the family, abuse, abandonment, an accident or illness, loss, perfectionism, or something else. Many are a combination of two or more. A Beast is that situation, person, attitude, or circumstance that has left you lost, defeated, frustrated, angry, hopeless and helpless, or living in paralyzing fear. Our Beasts remind us of the past, keep us from living in the present, and fearful of the future.

Beginning three years prior to the shooting, Valerie stepped onto what she calls the Roller Coaster from Hell. Her Codependent Enabler Beast rode it with her, but it would take Valerie nearly thirteen years to acknowledge the Beast that was slowly taking over her life.

With a heart shattered into a million pieces, a broken family, health issues, financial hardship and depression, Valerie was giving up the hope of ever being happy again. Still Standing After All the Tears takes you on a journey through the agony and hopelessness of losing a child over and over again to drug addiction. Valerie shares her very painful and journey to battle her own two-headed Codependency Enabler Beast. This book will give hope to anyone living with any kind of Beast - that you too have what it takes to stand up and fight.

She discovered the Nine Actions to Battle Your Beast that are helping countless others to stand up and fight; to put the pieces back together after all hell breaks loose.Nine Actions to Battle Your Beast

1. Decide to Stand Up & Fight

2. Get On Your Spiritual Armor

3. Put On Your Oxygen Mask

4. Build Your Circle of Strength

5. Change Your Attitude

6. Adjust Your Focus

7. Stop Being a Control Freak

8. Stand On Your Story

9. Make Meaning From the Madness

Valerie has an incredibly relatable style and her sense of humor shows through the pain. This book is important not only for families of addicts or domestic abuse victims, but also for anyone struggling to move through or past a serious life situation. The Nine Actions to Battle Your Beast are the very actions that Valerie still uses today and that are helping others to stand up and reclaim their lives.

If you are a mother of an addict or have a family member or loved one who is an addict, this book is for you. If your Beast has nothing to do with addiction, this book is still for you. No matter what Beast you have been living with, the Nine Actions to Battle Your Beast could mean the difference between living and really living.

Update: In August 2016, Jamie (whom I called Jordan in the book) was murdered. This time the Beast didn't knock on the door. It was more like a home invasion. He had me down on the mat, barely able to breathe. I really had to put these Actions to the test, and learn to stand again, with a hole in my heart.

That is exactly what I did. I now carry my daughter's spirit with me as we go out into the world to make a difference.