Poignant and raw, American Boy is the story of a brother’s fall through the eyes of a little sister. From childhood lightsaber opponent to an unrecognizable figure driving off into the night and stumbling up to federal court podiums, Megale chronicles Matthew’s journey through opioid addiction with brutal truth and unimaginable love.
This firsthand biography shares unique insight into a now all too familiar and life-threatening phenomenon—what worked for Matthew and what didn’t, mistakes along the way that challenge families to talk without shame about their loved one’s addiction, and what communities can do to change the course of this historic epidemic in front of them.
Written with haunting intimacy and surprising hope, Megale’s account is a must read for anyone touched by substance abuse or grief. It is the portrait of Matt—his spirit and his warmth—but the story of her, too, and her fight to return to him with both urgency and ideas of forever.
About S. C. Megale
S. C. MEGALE is an author and filmmaker. She’s been profiled in USA Today, The Washington Post, and New York Newsday, and has appeared on FOX News, NBC’s “Today Show” and the CBS Evening News for her philanthropic and literary work. As a humanitarian, she’s spoken on the USS Intrepid, at the NASDAQ opening bell, and to universities and doctors nationwide. She enjoys making connections all over the world.
Megale was raised in the long grass of the Civil War, hunting for relics and catching fireflies along the banks of Bull Run. A shark tooth, flutes, and a flask are some of the items that hang from her wheelchair, and she had a fear of elevators until realizing this was extremely inconvenient. She lives with her family which includes her parents, sister and brother, service dog, and definitely-not-service dog.
Her fist novel was This is Not a Love Scene.
