70% of kids who try drugs before 13 develop a substance abuse disorder within 7 years
When Judy Mandel made a deathbed promise to her sister, she had no idea how that promise would end. From an early age, Judy’s niece Cheryl struggled with addiction and the horrors that came with it – from imprisonment to living in shelters, and ultimately, a fatal overdose.
Trying to understand Cheryl’s life and where things went wrong, Judy Mandel drew on her investigative journalism skills and set out on a painful but revealing journey. The result is her latest memoir, White Flag.
About Judy Mandel
Judy Mandel is a former reporter and marketing executive. She has an MFA in create writing from Stony Brook University, and her essays have appeared in numerous publications including American Writers Review and Complete Wellbeing Magazine. She’s the New York Times bestselling author of Replacement Child. Her second memoir is White Flag.
*According to NCDAS: National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics