Maryjo Paradis Smith Raises Drug Abuse Awareness in Her Mystery Novel “July in August”

Maryjo Paradis Smith’s book “July in August: One Girl’s Struggle with an Opioid Addicted Mother” was last exhibited by self-publishing and book marketing company ReadersMagnet at the 2023 London Book Fair. The book trade fair took place last April 18-20, 2023, at Olympia London, London, UK.

“July in August” is a mystery novel that revolves around a young girl named July, a 12-year-old schoolgirl. July struggles to live in an unpleasant environment where she lives with her opioid-addicted mother and two-year-old brother, Abe. Her mother is too wasted to take care of her little brother, so she needs to choose between staying at home or wishing her brother is safe while she goes to school. She has not seen her father since she was three. Her father was a drug dealer and is in jail.

July lives in a small town in New Hampshire called Maplewood. New Hampshire was infamous for the number of drug addicts living in the area. At a very young age, she and the children in New Hampshire became exposed to the immoral doings of the adults in her environment. July recalls that there are places in town that are filled with clutter, such as needles and beer cans.

Their concerned neighbor, Mrs. Mary White, is an elderly woman who offers them help. She soon discovers that July’s mother is a drug addict, so she takes the children away from their mother to a distant lake house. Abe’s father, Roger, tries to pick up his son for the weekend but discovers the dead body of July’s mother. Rogers searches for Abe and July as he figures out who killed their mother.

Maryjo Paradis Smith’s July in August: One Girl’s Struggle with Opioid Addicted Mother is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Check out Maryjo Paradis-Smith and her other works by visiting her website at https://maryjoparadissmith.com/.

Author

Maryjo Paradis Smith (1960 - ) was born and raised in Arlington, Massachusetts. When she was a child, Maryjo lived in a two-family house. Her nine cousins lived upstairs and she and her five siblings lived downstairs. Her family became known as the ’Downstairs" When her mother became pregnant with her sixth sibling it was time to move to a bigger house. Her early years shaped much of her storytelling.

As an adult, Maryjo taught public school in Dover, New Hampshire for thirty-four years. It was during this time her passion for writing caught fire. As a middle school language arts and social studies teacher, Maryjo dedicated herself to her students. Respect and trust were established in her classroom. Students shared true stories of their struggles, everything from homelessness to not making the baseball team.

As an author, Maryjo hopes to bring these stories to life. Her first published book, “July in August: One Girl’s Struggle with Opioid Addicted Mother” tells the story of July Krativitiz who lives in the small New Hampshire town of Maplewood. Because July’s mother is addicted to opioids, July’s life is complicated. She has a two-year-old brother she feels responsible for, but she must leave him at home with her mother each day as she must go to school. As the story unfolds July relies on an elderly neighbor to help, only to find herself and her brother kidnapped and, on an adventure, she never wished for.

Maryjo currently lives in Barrington, New Hampshire with her husband, Tom, and her two cats. She has two grown daughters and one stepdaughter who have blessed her with six grandchildren

“July in August: One Girl’s Struggle with an Opioid Addicted Mother”
Author| Maryjo Paradis-Smith
Genre| Young Adult Fiction
Publisher| Ingram Spark
Published Date| September 23, 2020

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ReadersMagnet LLC

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