Wil And Linda Yazzie

Total Pardon Wil And Linda Yazzie

Why would a squeaky clean, evangelical Christian woman from Ohio fall madly in love with a hopeless alcoholic Native American ex-con with the last known address of Skid Row, USA? Her idyllic childhood was plagued by illness, yet filled with unconditional love and support. His childhood was splintered by divorce, plagued by poverty, fueled by superstition and filled with disappointment. Two individuals could not be more different, yet Wil Yazzie and Linda Amyx married each other not once but twice. An inmate who starts out a pen pal and ends up a husband, there's a lot that could go wrong in that situation. The notion of falling in love through letter writing is sketchy territory, but in Wil and Linda's case, it turned out to be sacred territory. When two people find unexpected tenderness, vulnerability and true love behind prison bars, the relationship is not only rare, it's fascinating. He was a hopeless alcoholic whose addictions robbed him of decades of his life, yet he goes from career criminal to Hollywood actor and devoted minister with a message. If it weren't for the unconditional love and faithful prayers of his wife Linda, Wil would be dead-like most of his drinking buddies. Total Pardon is a true reversal-of-destiny story that offers radical hope for those struggling with addiction. With life lessons on nearly every page and thought provoking discussion questions for each chapter, this book is a must-read for substance abuse counselors, social workers and youth ministers, as well as anyone who has struggled with or has a family member struggling with addiction. Wil Yazzie was born in Phoenix, Arizona and grew up on the Navajo Nation reservation. He attended the BIA boarding school in Shiprock, New Mexico and the Chilocco School for Indians in Oklahoma. He got his degree in social work from the University of Cincinnati and went on to become a Hollywood actor after founding several social programs for Native Americans in California. Linda Yazzie grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio where she worked as an elementary school librarian's assistant. Co-author, Jodie Randisi taught Navajo Indians at the Chinle Boarding School in Many Farms, Arizona in 1979. She established COWCATCHER Publications in 1992 to capture and preserve amazing true stories.