The Book

Raised in the Northwoods of Minnesota by alcoholic parents, Melissa Huray seemed like a fairly normal lower middle-class girl. But fear and panic were two demons always lurking nearby, driving her to quench anxiety at all costs. After school food binges numbed the mental noise for a while, but soon the need for something stronger overpowered her. Melissa hit the bottle at fifteen and plunged into a disastrous pattern of blackout binge drinking, drunk driving, and near-death experiences. Though she met Jesus Christ at a young age, discipleship did not follow and she was easily tempted by the lure of counterfeit gods. Empty idols found in beer cans, red Solo cups and the fleeting affection of men opened a dejected pathway of blackouts, breakups and shame. The gods of the world couldn’t subdue the crippling relapses forever waiting. The road to freedom and restoration was confusing and muddy for Melissa, and the secular world solicited every option but God. Outpatient treatment, endless support groups, therapy and antidepressants only intensified her desperation. As the addictive noose tightened, the Jesus she once knew came crashing through the darkness.