Reckless Grace

“Reckless Grace tells the story of a common struggle—one of a family navigating a loved one's mental illness—through a powerful, unique lens. Carolyn DiPasquale's firsthand narrative, punctuated by actual passages from her daughter's journals, offers an intimate perspective on self-medication through substance use. It's exactly what we need to help normalize a much-needed national conversation on mental health and addiction.”

 – Former U.S. Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy

“Reckless Grace is a heart-wrenching memoir by the mother of a daughter struggling with type 1 diabetes, an eating disorder, and a severe substance abuse disorder. Carolyn DiPasquale describes her own experience but also uses the richness of her daughter's diaries to help create a backdrop for what her daughter was feeling herself. Ms. DiPasquale recounts the pain that influenced her whole family as her daughter distanced herself from them while sinking deeper and deeper into her downward spiral. Her honest and touching story is intended to help other parents and families responding to the same difficulties.”

– Ann Goebel-Fabbri, PhD Licensed Psychologist

Dr. Ann Goebel-Fabbri is a beacon in the fields of diabetes and eating disorders. Her ground-breaking research on diabulimia has been featured on BBC Radio, Good Morning America, National Public Radio, CNN, and the New York Times.

Carolyn DiPasquale reveals an untold yet prevalent condition most clinicians don’t talk about: diabulimia, and how dangerous it is for adolescent girls with type 1 diabetes. With beautiful imagery, she describes how it feels to watch her beloved daughter live with eating disorders, addictions, and other afflictions.

I could feel this mother’s pain the day she collected her daughter’s belongings from one of many abusive boyfriends who had abandoned her when she needed him most. DiPasquale writes, “I picked up her Aldo flip-flops with the abalone disks. I was with her at the Warwick Mall when she bought them. Inside, I saw the imprint of her toes.”

Rachel’s poetry and prose are gorgeous and heartfelt. Here is one of many lines I wanted to read over and over: “I like the ignorance of being in love. It covers reality like a pristine blanket of snow.”

– Leslie Cox, author and blogger

Reckless Grace opens a window into the inner turmoil of a tortured soul. It’s a tough read. But it’s also informative, eye-opening, and quite possibly ground-breaking.

This book is beautifully written, achingly articulate, and searingly transparent. It’s a clarion call to end silent suffering, to “embrace the unembraceable,” and to treat those struggling with mental illness with “respect, patience, and love.”

Reckless Grace deserves a wide audience and much attention. Saturated in courage and buoyed by grace, it’s a remarkable achievement, especially for a debut work.

– Kristine Lowder, author and award-winning blogger.