Leaving Cloud 9

The True Story of a Life Resurrected from the Ashes of Poverty, Trauma, and Mental Illness

By: Ericka Andersen

Narrated by: Charity Spencer

A powerful, heartbreaking, and redemptive account of a boy who endured a childhood of poverty and abuse in an American Southwest trailer park named Cloud 9.

Abandoned by his father at age two, Rick Sylvester lived with an abusive mother whose struggles as a member of the working poor led her to drugs, alcohol, theft, and prostitution--and eventually attempted suicide. Rick battled depression, anxiety, and PTSD as the chaos, neglect, and unpredictability of his childhood seemed to doom him to follow in his mother's footsteps.

Well into adulthood, Rick stumbled through unemployment and divorce, using drugs and alcohol to numb the pain until he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Miraculously, though, he overcame the odds and today is a happy husband and father. How did this happen? Rick's answer is this: "It was the Lord."

A message of hope to those who are drowning from an undeserved childhood, Leaving Cloud 9 speaks to millions who grew up poor, feeling ignored and hopeless, and who need the healing power of God. This indelibly American story conveys the steadfast love of Jesus and his power to deliver us from the most devastating of pasts.

So inspiring - loved this audiobook!

The most special thing about this story is that it's written about a man by his wife. If you had a hard childhood, I'm sure you can relate somehow, and if you didn't - this makes you realize just how lucky you are. Listening to this book made my commute fly by! I highly recommend.

Inspiring and captivating story

You know those books you start and they are so good you can't put them down? This is one of those books! Rick's story of a heartbreaking childhood and a troubled early adult life that's redeemed by God's love is so powerful. You'll finish the book inspired by Rick's newfound hope and healing while still carrying the scars of his childhood. I'm so grateful for Rick and Ericka's courage to tell this difficult story. I can only hope that it will inspire people who are in or lived through similar situations to see that there is hope for them through Christ.

Lots of opinion, not much story

I have great sympathy for the main character and how he found Christ. It's great that he ended up in a good place after having a terrible childhood. I also am supportive of the conservative and Christian lessons to be learned from the book.

However, I was really looking for a memoir of Nick's childhood and what he experienced. We get snippets and short stories of that, but the book is a lot of commentary about laws, culture, and morality. Again, I agree with most of that commentary, but it was not really a memoir. It was a string of short stories with lots of commentary in between. I was looking for something similar to the memoir of Hillbilly Elegy. This book is not that.

What a story

This is an incredible story. Listened to the whole book in one day. Just wow.

Intense story but filled with hope & redemption

At times, the story was hard to listen to. No child (children) should ever have to experience what Rick and his sister did. However, knowing that God was with them every step of the way and helped him get to where he ultimately ended up was definitely inspiring!