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Few people in life are given a second chance at making their lives worth living again. Those who do get a second chance are a lucky group of individuals. They have the opportunity to straighten out earlier disappointing and embarrassing acts. People who have taken steps to sober recovery are in this group. They have been given a second chance to review their lives and accomplishments to rebuild what was lost. In SECOND CHANCES: Top Executives Share Their Stories of Addiction and Recovery by Gary Stromberg and Jane Merrill (McGraw-Hill; March 2009) readers will find 17 inspirational interviews with some of the world's most successful people who were given a second chance to get back on top after struggling, for years, with alcohol and drug additions.

These top business leaders reached the height of their careers in spite of, and sometimes because of, their substance abuse to only later plummeted to the depths of despair because of their addictions that lead them to walk side-by-side with their personal demons. However, the high-powered executives thrived and truly discovered themselves in the recovery process and came back even stronger than before. SECOND CHANCES reveals how they returned from the brink of self-destruction and replaced alcohol and drug infused egos with more humanitarian ideals, better business ethics, sturdier values and sometimes a higher profit margin.

Through this well-written anthology, readers will be able to identify with the rise and fall of these business titans and derive inspiration, strength and hope as they share their remarkable stories. Some of the participants who speak of their ordeals include:
• Michael Deaver, former White House Deputy Chief of Staff
• Walter Yetnikov, former President of CBS Records
• Andrew Zimmern, celebrity chef and host of "Bizarre Foods" on The Travel Channel
• Henry Pierce III, executive director of Clean & Sober Streets

Consumers will also find stories about James Abernathy of the Abernathy MacGregor Group, Bob Goodale, former president of Harris Teeter supermarket chain and Maggie Sherman, CEO of a charter transportation company who discovered newfound success through the healing power of her second chance.

SECOND CHANCES is not only for people who are struggling with alcohol and drug addictions and are searching for inspiration. It is for anyone who wants to experience the ups and downs of how real-life in the business world can be.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Gary Stromberg co-founded Gibson & Stromberg, a large and influential music public relations firm of the sixties and seventies. He represented such luminaries as The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Muhammad Ali, Barbra Streisand, Boyz II Men, Neil Diamond, Ray Charles, The Doors, Earth, Wind & Fire, Elton John, Three Dog Night and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Stromberg also spent time in the film business where he co-produced the motion pictures Car Wash and The Fish that Saved Pittsburgh. He has co-written two books, The Harder They Fall and Feeding the Fame He currently runs The BLACKBIRD Group, a small public relations firm in Marina del Rey, California. He is also active is service work, having served as President of the Board of Directors of Positive Directions, a Center for Prevention and Recovery, as well as being a mentor for over eight years. He has two children, a son who is a junior at Cal St. Northridge and a daughter who is a freshman at the University of Michigan.

Stromberg lives in the Los Angeles area and has been clean and sober for more than 26 years.

Jane Merrill has been an editor and researcher for medical articles, books, newsletters and The Atlantic Institute in Paris. She has also written for several national publications on child-rearing, health, education, personal relationships and art. Her work has appeared in Redbook, Vogue, Penthouse, Christian Science Monitor, New York, American Health Connoisseur and The New Republic. Merrill has degrees in English from Harvard and Columbia Universities and a BA from Wellesley College.

SECOND CHANCES: Top Executives Share Their Stories of Addiction and Recovery by Gary Stromberg and Jane Merrill; McGraw-Hill; March 2009; $15.95; Original Trade Paperback; ISBN: 10: 0-07-159162-1; 13: 978-0-07-159162-1.

Participants in SECOND CHANCES who are available to share their stories through an in-studio or telephone interview in their hometowns are:

• Gary Stromberg, co-author of SECOND CHANCES, Los Angeles, CA
• Andrew Zimmern, chef and host of "Bizarre Foods" The Travel Channel, Minneapolis, MN
• Henry Pierce III, executive director of Clean & Sober Streets, Washington, DC
• James Abernathy, CEO of Abernathy MacGregor Group, New York, NY
• David Dashev, founder and president of Meditox, West Palm Beach Florida
• Maggie Sherman, CEO of a charter transportation company, Baltimore, MD
• William Cope Meyers, bestselling author, Minneapolis, MN
• Peter Jaquith, former Wall Street millionaire, Los Angeles, CA
• Michael Glasser, CEO of Seven Jeans, Los Angeles, CA
• Guerin Swing, president of Guerin Design and Development, Los Angeles, CA
• Wiktor Osiatynski, internationally renowned legal scholar, Hartford, CT
• Johnny Allem, CEO of Johnson Institute, Washington, DC
• Marius Hickman, president of Marius Morsels, Los Angeles, CA
• Walter Yetnikoff, former president of CBS Records, New York, NY
• Marv Seppala, medical director and CEO of Beyond Addictions, Portland, OR
• Bob Goodale, former president of Harris Teeter supermarket chain, Fredericksburg, VA