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by Debbie Lennon (Author)
How could their golden boy suddenly transform into their family's biggest heartache, seemingly overnight?
To Debbie Lennon and her family, life seemed perfect, with five beautiful, creative children and a peaceful life in California, until one fateful day when everything changed.
Their kind-hearted, athletic, teenage son Tommy started acting differently. Behavioral problems came up in school and with his friends. Suddenly, he was expelled. A cycle overtook their family with Tommy spiraling into addiction, jail, homelessness, and mental illness.
Questioning their parenting and with Debbie wondering if she was not a good enough mother, their close-knit family life devolved into crisis and pain. Desperate for answers, the Lennon family turned over every stone in search of what could be the cause of Tommy's sudden turn into self-destructive behaviors. They just couldn't understand how their beloved son went from an artistic, natural-born leader and athlete to an addict caught in a revolving door of homelessness, mental health institutions, and incarceration.
In a twist of fate, Tommy ends up in the care of a psychiatrist at the Twin Towers Jail in Los Angeles, who happened to know the Lennon family. He knew Tommy came from a good family. So why was he in jail?
The doctor gave them the long-awaited answers they had been searching for-Tommy had suffered an undiagnosed Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) at the tender age of sixteen in a surfing accident. The Lennons finally realized, ever since the accident, Tommy's life had become unmanageable. Armed with this new knowledge, they began to advocate for their son.
After almost forty years of advocacy and investigation into the chronic effects of TBI, Debbie Lennon and her family are sharing their story to empower other struggling families seeking answers.
Join Debbie Lennon and her family as they finally find answers on their journey of helping their son and healing family trauma.
