BELLEVILLE - Grief and Hope Inside the Opioid Crisis" by Ellen Krohne with Matthew Ellis and Diana Cuddeback won the Bronze Medal in the Non-Fiction - Grief/Hardship category in the 2020 Reader’s Favorite Book Award Contest. The local author published the book in 2019. The book provides a history of opioid addiction in the U.S., stories from seven families who have lost a child to opioid addiction, and strategies to provide healing and hope.

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The Annual Readers' Favorite International Book Award Contest featured thousands of contestants from over a dozen countries, ranging from new independent authors to NYT best-sellers and celebrities. Because of these large submission numbers, they are able to break down their contest into 140+ genres, and each genre is judged separately, ensuring that books only compete against books of their same genre for a fairer and more accurate competition. They receive submissions from independent authors, small publishers, and publishing giants such as Random House, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster.

The book is currently available at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1733298304 or at Heartlinks Grief Center in Belleville, IL. You can learn more about "Heartbroken” at www.ellenkrohne.com where you can read reviews and the author’s biography, as well as connect with the author directly. Proceeds from the sale of “Heartbroken” are donated to Heartlinks Grief Center, a program of Family Hospice of Belleville.

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