Weaving Dreams Publishing

Addicted:

Cold Water

Submersion

About the Author

Born in Massachusetts and raised in Copake, New York, Jill Peck Vona now resides in Latham, New York.

In 2011, she received the Reader's Digest Bronze Award for an earlier edition of her story.

Jill's cartoon series, "My Duma", is published bi-weekly in a local newspaper.

In 2009, she formed Vona Ventures, a greeting card line, which displays her photography.

Jill can be reached by e-mail at peckvona@gmail.com. Her website is located at www.jillpeckvonaphotography.com or https://sites.google.com/site/vonaventures64/

Excerpt

Chapter 1

The Kiddy Pool

If someone asked me a few years ago, "Do you believe in Heaven and Hell?" I would have certainly answered, "Absolutely. I am living in Hell right now."

There is heat, and then there is hot. If Hell is like this, then I pray I don't ever go there. Every day, the pressure that pushed down upon my body was oppressive. There seemed to be little I could do to get relief. Each morning, there was the same thing to look forward to: try to survive the heat that burned deep into every part of my body....

....Only when I was asleep, did the torture subside. As soon as one eye opened, I felt the heat engulf the top of my head, work its way to my neck, continue down my torso, and finish at my feet, as if following a map. This daily pattern was a thorn in my side – a depressing existence. With the heat keeping me a prisoner most of the day, I had no appetite. Whatever I thought I might be able to consume, my body told me otherwise as soon as it entered the blood stream. I dreaded eating; it was too difficult.

The true story of one woman's highly unusual addiction.

Peck Vona dates the beginning of her addiction to cold water to '72, but traces the longer history of her obsessive-compulsive behavior. The physical discomforts and psychological unrest that disrupted her childhood in midcentury upstate New York are keys to understanding her story. A life is a difficult thing to summarize and Peck Vona's is altered by an unheard of addiction and a multitude of shifting obsessions. The author is extremely sensitive to temperature and suffers from feelings of extreme heat that intensify after she eats; as a child and teenager she goes through bouts of self-starvation and bingeing, as an adult she schedules her life around finding places to swim and taking multiple cold showers or ice baths a day. As is often the case with addiction, she distances herself from family, loses jobs and then places to live. The turning point of the book – and of the life upon which it is based – comes when a 31-year-old, malnourished Peck Vona rents a room from a construction laborer named Paul. Paul is there for the lowest points of her addiction and remains with her – as a friend, then lover, then husband – as she slowly frees herself. The book is about a woman becoming physically, as well as figuratively, comfortable in her own skin. The voice that emerges is earnest and can be unexpectedly moving.

A thorough record of sometimes shocking personal fact: a compelling memoir. 

ADDICTED TO COLD WATER: My Story
Kirkus Discoveries, Kirkus Media LLC, 6411 Burleson Rd., TX 78744
discoveries@kirkusreviews.com

Readers Digest- 5 stars ~

Addicted To Cold Water by Jill Peck Vona is a necessary read.  When we hear the word addiction we think of drugs, medications, alcohol, gambling, sex, and food. Addicted To Cold water introduces readers to other forms of addiction and helps the reader to understand the addiction. Addiction affects you, your family, work and every part of your life.

Jill shares the story of her life and her addiction. Early in life she realized she had a problem. She would get hot and swimming was the only thing that brought relief. Swimming at the lake and pools and shower were her only relief. The water had to be cold. The house had to be kept at a constant temperature. She had rituals that she had to keep 365 days a year.

Paul offered her unconditional love. He took care of her, loved her despite her demands, and met her needs. Eventually she learned to cope. Change was difficult for her.

This is a story that had to be told. It is difficult to understand the addictions that some people face. We need to know, attempt to understand and offer assistance.