Excuse Me, Your Life is Waiting!: Robert Boich's personal tale of alcohol addiction

Making a resolution to address an alcohol or substance abuse issue is only the beginning. The real work begins when the alcoholic or addict acknowledges that something has to be done. As one counselor put it, “An addict only has to change one thing: everything.” More than mere abstinence or simply eliminating certain people and places from one’s daily routine, a successful recovery requires a brand-new approach in dealing with life. In this compelling, intimate narrative, Boich shares his struggles, and insights encountered during his first six months in recovery.

This is the premise of self-help author Robert Boich's new book, Excuse Me, Your Life is Waiting! (iUniverse).

Robert was born in Phoenix, Arizona. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado, and a law degree from Ohio northern University. He also holds an LLM in taxation from Boston University. The author is currently working on his second book, a novel, based on World War I and the battle of Verdun. In his free time, Boich enjoys golfing, skiing, reading and traveling. He is married with four children and practices law in Ohio.

We interviewed Robert to find out more about his exciting new book, Excuse Me, Your Life is Waiting!

Thank you for this interview, (Robert). Can you tell us a little about yourself and how long you’ve been writing?

I'm an attorney by trade, though for most of my career I've been employed more as a consultant then a day-to-day attorney. I have been writing for a little over three years.

Can you tell us briefly what your book is about?

I wrote, Excuse Me, Your Life Is Waiting!, on the advice of one of my counselors in rehab. It's intended to help the newcomer to recovery; to help bridge that gap from active addiction to early recovery. It's more than a textbook on recovery, and it's more than a simple recounting of my journey through early sobriety. I try to blend my personal thoughts with a lot of helpful information about sobriety and early recovery, and package them into an entertaining story. In addition to simply discussing the ideas and tools which I was exposed to during the early months of my recovery; I offer examples where I was able to implement these new resources into my everyday life.

Who is your intended audience? Have you been able to crossover into other audiences as well?

Although the book is intended to target the newcomer to recovery, those individuals who are finally making a decision to try and turn their life around; my story also serves to help those not afflicted with the disease to better understand the challenges that the chemical dependent must address in order to break the destructive cycle of abuse. In addition, the tips and tools I discuss in the book can be applied to any one's day-to-day life.

Why did you feel you needed people to hear your story?

It's more like it chose me. As I mentioned earlier, I started this project at the suggestion of one of my counselors. In his opinion, my experiences might be able to help others, maybe even save a life.

Do you ever experience self-doubts with your work?

Absolutely, all the time.

Where do you write? Do you have a favorite place?

I write at home now. I have an office/guest room, where I do all my work these days.

What kind of research did you have to do during the writing process?

The book is a first-person narrative for the most part, so the research was based on my personal life experiences.

Who is your publisher and how did you get accepted by them? Did you pitch your book yourself or go through an agent?

At the suggestion of a literary agent, I decided to self publish through iUniverse. It's very difficult for an unknown, first-time author to find a publisher. This being said, I did take a stab at one of the mainstream publishing houses. I actually, have a family contact that was able to get my manuscript to the owner of a major publishing house, one of the big ones. He read my manuscript during a weekend visit with this particular relative, and liked my story enough to forward it on to the next level. That's as far as it went. They passed on the project, but all in all it was an encouraging development. The editor who nixed the project suggested that I find a literary agent, which I did, through the same family contact. This particular agent enjoyed my story and felt that it should be published. She told me she would be willing to represent me and see what she could do, but she warned me that with no author’s platform to fall back on it could be a difficult process. That's when she suggested I try iUniverse.

How are you promoting your book thus far?

I hired a firm for a 90 day media marketing plan. They prepared press kits, published an announcement on the news wires, and targeted a half dozen or so specific media outlets. I've also done two e-mail campaigns. Other than that, it's been mostly word-of-mouth.

If you could give one book promotion tip to new authors, what would that be?

Be patient and find someone to help you, someone who knows what they're doing.

What’s next for you?

I'm working on my second book right now, a novel. It's based on World War I and the battle of Verdun.

Thank you for this interview, Robert. We wish you much success!

Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble.com are the best way to obtain your copies, although you can order it in in most Virginia Beach bookstores. You can visit Robert's website at www.rwboich.com for more information about the book.