The Publishing Story: Untangling Addiction

Discipleship.org is a collaborative community of people committed to the discipleship lifestyle. They wanted to publish Dr. Marcus De Carvalho’s message to help people overcome “hijacking” of the brain that comes from addiction, so they reached out to us to publish the book.

Specific Services We Provided

They wanted help with editing, cover design, and eBook formatting. We worked with their team and the author to help them with:

• Total project management
• Macroediting, copyediting, and proofreading
• Cover design
• eBook formatting

Our project manager worked closely with “Dr. D,” as he’s often called, and Discipleship.org, providing guidance at every step toward publishing this book in 2018 (then updating it in 2021).

They published Untangling Addiction and made it available through their website as an eBook so people around the world could benefit from Dr. D’s research and experience helping patients with addiction from a faith-based perspective.

We appreciate the content of this book, especially his unique scientific research (throughout), insights about neuroplasticity and recovery (Chapter 3), and practical guidance for disciples of Jesus (Chapter 10).

We also appreciate Discipleship.org’s kind endorsement: “If you want a trustworthy and knowledgeable source for book production, we can tell you whom to call. Discipleship.org has depended on Chad Harrington and his team since 2015. Not only do they perform excellent, accurate work, but we can also depend on their team’s unique knowledge and understanding of disciple making to confirm that the messaging in our books is correct. Use YouPublish!”

More About the Book

From the publisher

In this eBook, Dr. De Carvalho introduces hope and the ability to overcome the “hijacking” of the brain that comes from addiction. He utilizes the concept of neural plasticity to help readers understand the complexities of addiction.

This “hijacking” can be so intense that the brain believes it needs addictive substances to survive in the same way it needs basic substances, such as food and sleep.

Dr. De Carvalho shows in this eBook how repetitive behaviors involving drugs, alcohol, gambling, and pornography will inevitably cause the brain to believe that it needs these addictive behaviors or substances in order to survive. In this way, the individual becomes “stuck” in their addiction, and the brain is “hijacked.”

Most importantly, he teaches that discipleship and true discipling relationships are the only ways we can truly overcome and maintain long-term spiritual health and sobriety.

Dr. Marcus De Carvalho is a Medical Doctor who specializes in addiction medicine and psychiatry. He is board certified and is a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Inc. Dr. De Carvalho is the president and founder of the Center for a Healthy Mind and Wellbeing. He also recently debuted untangleaddiction.com, an online based website dedicated to helping individuals become “unstuck” from their addictions and re-establish themselves spiritually, mentally, and physically. He is also credentialed at local hospitals where he treats patients who are in need of medical detox from addictive substances or who are in need of psychiatric stabilization. Dr. De Carvalho is also very active in his local church where he has helped to start a men’s sexual purity ministry. He is active in teaching and preaching at his church as well. His motto is, “Helping people regain their lives spiritually is one of the greatest things anyone can witness.”

Dr. De Carvalho possesses a wealth of knowledge in psychiatric and addiction medicine and works closely with individuals struggling with anxiety. He is an expert in a number of disorders and diseases and is often consulted by local news outlets concerning issues of addiction and psychiatric health matters. Dr. De Carvalho has been interviewed about the opioid epidemic, teenage addiction, anxiety, and marijuana use. He is passionate with what he teaches and believes that everyone deserves the opportunity to regain a life that allows them to become a functional member of society and to lead a fulfilling life with purpose and impact.

Dr. De Carvalho said, in one of his talks, “Addiction is a true medical illness and is not a moral failure. Addictive substances can literally ‘hijack’ the pleasure reward pathways of the brain and make you believe that you need these substances to survive.” He also stated that “anxiety is experienced by over 40 million people each year. People need to be treated compassionately with the most innovative treatments medicine has to offer.” Dr. De Carvalho approaches a treatment plan by addressing biological, social, and psychological needs. He also speaks about the importance of “Jesus style discipleship”’ as a means for personal growth, especially where addiction and anxiety are involved. He tells people that the need for deep/vulnerable spiritually based relationships is an absolute necessity to moving forward in life.

He writes: “I love seeing my patients regain their lives and grow spiritually right before my eyes. It is always inspiring and reaffirms to me why I love what I do.”