MY BOOKS
THE FRUIT YOU’LL NEVER SEE
Growing up in Gloucester, Massachusetts, a quaint coastal town with a dark underbelly, Gail Brenner Nastasia learned early on that some people mattered and others didn’t. As the child of a heroin-addicted mother and an aunt who brokered deals with men who liked to have sex with young girls, Gail was sure she didn’t matter. As a result of keeping her secrets and those of her family, she developed a cunning and merciless pill addiction.
Despite moving away from Gloucester in her early twenties and becoming an attorney, Gail continued to use drugs while carrying the shame of her childhood. It wasn’t until she began to appreciate the value in her criminally-charged clients, those with whom she shared similar struggles, she was finally able to recognize her own worth. This new understanding gave her the courage to put down the drugs, fully embrace her history, and stop hiding.
A candid look at the things we inherit, The Fruit You’ll Never See, reminds us of the value intrinsic in every human being and the responsibility we all have to each other and ourselves.
staying clean…living dirty
Most addiction memoirs end with sobriety. This one begins there.
After years of relapses, Gail Brenner Nastasia was finally clean and ready for the promises of sobriety. Within a few years, everything she thought she ever wanted was hers: a husband, healthy children, and a prestigious legal career. Until she blew it all up. She ended her marriage by becoming involved with an active addict, her finances were in ruins, and she was living in constant chaos.
In Staying Clean...Living Dirty, Gail shares her raw journey of discovery as she learns that despite a decade of sobriety, her addictive behaviors hadn't changed—she was still "living dirty." Sobriety alone wasn't enough. Real recovery meant uncovering what she'd been keeping in the dark. The transformation came when she realized her painful past wasn't something to hide—it was preparation for her life's work.
This unflinching memoir offers hope to anyone who knows that living clean isn’t always as easy as it sounds.
