When the Door Opened

MANCHESTER, NH – WestBridge, a dual diagnosis treatment program based in NH, MA, and FL, announces the launch of a new book, When the Door Opened, acollection of authentic stories of twelve men who have experienced treatment and recovery from co-occurring mental illness and substance use disorders. WestBridge’s CEO, Mary Woods, RNC, and co-author Katherine Armstrong interviewed current and past participants from WestBridge. Based on their dialogue, each chapter in the book shares the raw memories and candid reflections of one man’s journey.

Co-occurring mental illness and substance use disorders are brain diseases that affect individuals, families, and communities regardless of socio-economic status, ethnicity, or upbringing. There is no magic bullet for these chronic illnesses, but there are effective treatments through which recovery is achieved.

“We speak an inherently different language. The difficult part is to learn how to stop speaking the easy language—the one that’s familiar to us—and to learn the world’s language so we can communicate with the rest of humanity,” says “Steven”, a treatment participant and interviewee.

The fundamental goal of this book, in giving voice to authentic accounts, is to decrease the misconceptions and stigma faced by individuals in recovery from mental illness and substance use disorders.

“As the personal accounts in this volume demonstrate, evidence-based care and integrated treatment can save lives,” states the Director of the Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center, Robert E. Drake, MD, PhD, in his foreword. 

Copies of When the Door Opened are available at www.whenthedooropened.com or Amazon.com.

About Mary Ryan Woods,RNC, LADC, MSHS: Mary is the creator and CEO of WestBridge a treatment program for individuals with co-occurring disorders headquartered in Manchester, NH. She has spent her career working in fields of addiction and mental health treatment.

About Katherine Armstrong: Katherine is a project manager with Dunleavy & Associates, a Philadelphia-based consulting firm that provides professional services to non-profit organizations. Katherine has worked with WestBridge in a variety of capacities since 2010.