Mark McCullough is the author of the true story,
VIENNA’S
WILL. He began writing his story over twenty years ago and was
encouraged by family and friends to complete the book. “Since its release, I have bonded with others who have had similar
experiences and have found that the concept of perhaps helping someone else is
not only an amazing feeling, it has helped with my own growth and understanding
of what is truly important as well.”
Mark worked in the pool and spa industry for
eighteen years then turned to his true passion of helping others. When he isn’t
writing, he enjoys spending time with his dog and going to the movies or the
local pizza joint with his daughter, Vienna.
For More Information
Title: Vienna’s Will
Author: Mark McCullough
Publisher: Createspace
Pages: 254
Genre: Memoir
Author: Mark McCullough
Publisher: Createspace
Pages: 254
Genre: Memoir
New
author, Mark McCullough, shares his inspirational journey through chronic
depression and addiction in VIENNA’S WILL
(www.viennaswill.com). After
struggling for years to control the negative thoughts that he attempted to
quiet with drugs and alcohol, Mark’s life changes when he finds the
unconditional love of a little girl and her mother.
In
April of 1992, Mark McCullough’s distraught parents delivered their
twenty-five-year-old son to Butner Federal Prison after he committed a bank
robbery. The court had arranged for the prison to complete a psychiatric
evaluation of the troubled young man. Mark had intended for the crime to result
in his death.
The
author explores a lifetime battle with depression that was a result of sexual
abuse by men he trusted and cared for as a child. At ten years old, Mark was
obsessed with playing baseball and greatly admired his coach, who treated him
like a son. The young boy’s first experience with betrayal came one afternoon
when the coach molested him. Mark held the secret of the abuse inside, and it
fed his depression for years to come. Later, when Mark was attending a Catholic
high school, a priest befriended him and soon revealed his true intentions for
forming the relationship.
The
anguish of abuse and depression that Mark suffered drove him deeper into a life
of drug and alcohol dependency. When Mark moved to Boston to attend college, he
dropped out of school after attending one class. Thereafter, Mark spent his
time seeking his next high and a place to sleep at night. He sold drugs to
support his habit, until one day a friend persuaded him to return home before
his addiction killed him.
After
returning home, the drug use continued and Mark became suicidal. The plan he
conceived that was supposed to lead to his death landed him in prison instead.
During the time that Mark spent in prison, he faced anxiety and violence, but
he also found companionship, as well as support from the psychiatrist
responsible for his evaluation.
Mark
continued to struggle with his addiction and depression for several years after
his release from prison. Then he met the woman who would become his wife and
her then four-year-old daughter, Vienna. Mark credits them with
changing his life. The love of his daughter, Vienna, pulled Mark from the
darkness and renewed his gratitude for his life and his family.
Mark’s
decision to share his story of addiction, abuse, and mental illness came after
many years of keeping secrets from his family and loved ones. “Some of the experiences I speak of in the book, some of
the things I thought would stay hidden within me forever, needed to be spoken
about and explained to people in my life who care about me and love me.”
The author hopes that VIENNA’S
WILL will shed light on sexual abuse, addiction, and depression and help
other people to face these issues in their lives and in the lives of others.
Mark says, “So much of what happens in the book has, in some way, affected a
great deal of people in our society, but they feel resistant to express it or
discuss it. Whether it’s them personally, a friend, a family member, or even a
coworker, if the book inspires them to help themselves or others, it will have
served its true purpose.”
In VIENNA’S WILL,
Mark reveals that the love and support of his family, especially from his
daughter, Vienna, has
been a powerful catalyst in his recovery and his decision to embrace life after
so many years of enduring emotional hardship. The author states that he often “smiles
at the thought of a child and her unconditional love being strong enough to
overcome all the events of the past.”
For More Information
- Vienna’s Will is available at Amazon.
- Pick up your copy at Barnes & Noble.
- Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.
Thank you for this interview! I’d like to know more about you as a person
first. What do you do when you’re not
writing?
I work in the Pool and Spa industry and I spend as much time
as I can with our large array of animals.
When did you start writing?
I started when I was 28 as a way to vent and express the
things I struggled to convey verbally.
As a published author, what would you say was
the most pivotal point of your writing life?
Just making the commitment to actually follow through with
it. I had written a lot through the years but actually have your own book in
your hands was something I wasn’t sure I would ever accomplish.
If you could go anywhere in the world to start
writing your next book, where would that be and why?
Cape May, NJ. It’s
always been a source of great pleasure and inspiration for me.
If you had 4 hours of extra time today, what
would you do?
I would spend it at the park with my dogs and my daughter, Vienna. With
our current schedules, there never seems to be enough family time.
Where would you like to set a story that you
haven’t done yet?
Ireland. My
mother always dreamed of going there so doing research for a story there would
be amazing.
Back to your present book, VIENNA’S WILL, how did you publish it?
I self-published through Createspace. They were great to
work with and the whole process was seamless.
In writing your book, did you travel anywhere
for research?
No. It’s a memoir, so all I had to do is go back into my
past and re-visit events and moments both good and bad that had occurred.
Why was writing VIENNA’S WILL so important to you?
I got very sick a few years ago and it became very important
to me to share my past with my loved ones. I wanted them to better understand
me and the person I had become. I also became inspired to not only change my
outlook and viewpoint on life, but also hopefully help others to do so as well.
Where do you get your best ideas and why do you
think that is?
I think I’m like a lot of others that get their best ideas
through using their imagination. We are all capable of creativity and
originality if we leave ourselves open to it.
Any final words?
I strongly encourage everyone with a painful past to write
it all down. You will be amazed at how it starts to lose its power over you
with each page you write and how much stronger you will feel as a person.
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