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About Brook
Brook McKenzie is a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor, author, and CEO of the nation’s only long-term treatment program dedicated exclusively to chronic relapse.
He has spent his career guiding families through some of the most painful and confusing moments of their lives, offering not just insight—but action. His work centers on truth, accountability, and the kind of clarity families desperately need but rarely receive.
Brook’s direct, compassionate approach helps families break free from the cycles of fear, guilt, and false hope that keep them stuck. He understands the emotional chaos that surrounds addiction—and what it takes to interrupt it. Through hard-won experience and thousands of hours working with families in crisis, he delivers one unshakable message: stop waiting for them to get it. The real work starts with you.
Brook is the author of You’re Waiting on You, a practical guide for families seeking change when nothing else has worked. Whether in writing, on stage, or in private consultation, he speaks with uncommon clarity—and invites families to do the same.
He lives in Texas with his wife and two sons, and draws daily purpose from fatherhood, recovery, and helping others walk the hard but necessary path toward healing.
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About The Book
Title: You’re Waiting on You: Why Real Recovery Starts with You—Not Them
You’re Waiting on You is a breakthrough guide for families caught in the exhausting cycle of addiction and relapse.
When someone you love is struggling with addiction, it can feel like your whole life is put on hold-waiting for them to change, waiting for the next crisis, waiting for the relapse you fear is inevitable. Brook McKenzie, Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and CEO of the nation’s only authentic long-term treatment center for chronic relapse, knows this pain both personally and professionally. He’s seen what doesn’t work, and he knows what does.
This book offers what families rarely receive: absolute clarity, hard-won honesty, and permission to stop waiting.
With direct yet compassionate guidance, Brook equips families to:
- Set boundaries that build trust and consistency
- Interrupt the destructive cycles that keep relapse alive
- Respond to crisis with calm, not chaos
- Disrupt enabling patterns and demand accountability
- Choose truth over fear-every single time
Written for families in crisis, You’re Waiting on You is concise, practical, and unforgettable. It doesn’t offer false hope or quick fixes. Instead, it shows families how to create the conditions where real recovery becomes possible-not by forcing change, but by leading it.
If you are tired of living in fear and uncertainty, this book is your roadmap out. You can’t choose recovery for your addicted loved one-but you can choose it for yourself.
Additional Information
ISBN: 979-8-99956-030-8
Release Date: September, 2025
Available for Purchase at: Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, Apple Books, KOBO, Google Play Books
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Sample Questions & Answers
What inspired you to write "You’re Waiting on You"?
“I kept meeting families who were exhausted, desperate, and convinced their addicted loved one held the keys to everyone’s recovery. The truth is, that waiting game destroys families. I wanted to write a book that flipped the script—one that says, ‘Stop waiting. You’re the one who needs to move first.’ This book came from years of sitting with families in their pain and realizing they deserved a clear, honest guide.”
Why do families often struggle more than the addicted loved one themselves to change?
“Because the addicted loved one’s struggle is visible—drinking, using, relapsing. The family’s struggle is invisible—denial, enabling, fear, guilt. And it’s harder to admit your own patterns than to point at someone else’s. Families often cling to the illusion that if their loved one gets better, they won’t have to change. But the reality is, their unwillingness to change can keep the whole cycle going.”
How has your personal story shaped your approach to helping families?
“I know what it’s like to live on both sides—struggling myself and then watching my own family walk through the chaos with me. That gave me a deep respect for the pain families carry. But it also gave me the conviction that telling the truth, even when it hurts, is the most loving thing you can do. My approach comes from blending lived experience with clinical training and never forgetting that real change is possible.”
What’s the one thing families should stop doing right now if they want change?
“They should stop rescuing. Every time a family bails someone out, covers for them, pays the bill, or softens the consequences, they reinforce the cycle. Love gets confused with protection. The most loving act is to step back, tell the truth, and allow reality to do its work. Stop rescuing, and you give both yourself and your loved one a chance at real recovery.”