Noah Leo Blog – Stories & Thoughtful Articles for All

  When people think about addiction, they often picture the obvious lies—the excuses you make to family, the stories you tell to employers, the promises you break to friends. But the most dangerous lies aren’t the ones told out loud. They’re the ones whispered inside your own head, the ones you start to believe because the truth hurts too much to face. In From Marching Band to the Glass Rose , Kristin Stanton candidly shares how self-deception paved her road from small-town innocence to the depths of addiction and prostitution. She didn’t wake up one day and decide to become a heroin addict, a crack user, or a sex worker. It happened gradually, one rationalization at a time. “I can quit whenever I want.” “I’m still in control.” “This isn’t who I really am.” Those lies worked—until they didn’t. Addiction’s Favorite Lie: “It’s Just One More Time” Kristin describes how every high came with a promise to stop tomorrow. But tomorrow never came. Addiction convinces you that you’re still i...

The connections soldiers build during war can stick with them long after the fighting ends. In the chaos and stress of combat, having teammates they can count on gives them the strength to keep going. War often forces soldiers to shut down emotionally and put their personal lives on hold just to get through it. That’s why the bond with their unit becomes so important — it helps them handle the mental toll that comes with being in a war zone. In The Wall by Aaron McCammon, James “Doc” Holiday survives this with his three important friends: Johnny Webster, Juan Carlos Menendez, and Jerry “MoTown” Miller.  These men fight beside Doc in the Vietnam War, and each one plays an important role in helping him grow. They aren’t just teammates—they help him become a stronger leader and a more caring person.  Their friendships show how powerful brotherhood can be, especially during tough times. Johnny Webster: The Spark of Morale Johnny Webster brings levity to the grim environment of V...

  What if, in your most vulnerable state: broken, unconscious, powerless, you began having visions of a life that wasn’t yours… and yet felt more real than your own? This is the premise of Traceback by David Benjamin. It’s the emotional engine behind Rafi Ciprone-Hantz’s extraordinary journey, a psychological, spiritual, and historical awakening that begins in the silence of a coma. A Collapse of Identity Rafi is a young, high-achieving Yale Law student, living a life built on structure, expectation, and quiet restraint. However, a traumatic accident leaves him in a coma, and everything changes. What follows isn’t a simple medical recovery; it’s a breakdown of boundaries between past and present, self and other. In his unresponsive state, Rafi becomes a witness to vivid scenes from across centuries: a bride-to-be in 19th-century Vilnius, a terrified young man aboard a ship to America, a survivor of the Great Storm in 1703 England. These visions seem like full, textured lives—compl...