Book Review: Unshackled: A Story of Redemption and Renewal

By Michael Tidemann

Unshackled (by Joe Potosi) describes redemption and healing  

Joe Potosi had two strikes against him while growing up – an alcoholic mother and father. It seemed only natural that he should fall victim to the same demons.  But somehow, with a caring wife, supportive relatives and the grace of God, Potosi  managed to climb out of his personal hell to make a life filled with meaning and purpose.  Unshackled: A Story of Redemption and Renewal, chronicles Potosi’s up-and-down struggles with alcohol and how he survived. Potosi, from Dubuque, Iowa, wrote a previous  book about his past, When the Dust Settled.  

Despite Potosi’s attempt to change himself by joining the Navy, his hideously cruel  mother continued to demean him, cutting him down and standing by as his stepfather beat  him.  

“I wanted her to acknowledge, just once, the damage she’d done, the way she treated me, the years of neglect, the wounds she chose not to see.”  

He tried to win his mother over by sending her most of his Navy pay but received  neither thanks nor acknowledgement she had even received it. When his mother’s boyfriend  sold him an apartment and Potosi lost it because he couldn’t’ make payments, his mother only  stood by, criticizing and never supporting.  

For a brief moment, Potosi embraced a renewed relationship with his biological father,  only to have him leave without a word. From there his life took a downward spiral as he couch  surfed from relative to friend until he hit absolute rock bottom.  

 And then he met Anne.  

“The fact that you’re afraid means you’ve already broken the cycle,” Anne told him.  “You care. That’s where it starts.”  

They were married, but Potosi’s struggle wasn’t over. The drinking continued, as his demons failed to leave him. Then Anne had finally had enough: Choose me or drinking. You  can’t have both.  

While Potosi had touched bases with religion, he had never made it all the way home.  But finally, he did. That change came with the birth of his first son, Rory.  “I had a chance: repeat the cycle or end it once and for all. By God’s grace, I chose the latter.”  

 Potosi’s story is inspiring and hard to put down. Anyone facing similar struggles could benefit tremendously from his book.