For the Love of Daniel

The Power of Love ... And the Possibility of Happy Endings Daniel was a charismatic bundle of walking contradictions. Socially anxious, widely popular, he lived with the sensitivity of an angel, and the self-destructiveness of a demon. By his early teenage years he had been diagnosed with bipolar and anxiety disorders, ADD and alcohol dependency. By his late teens he was a high school dropout and an opiate addict. At the same time he was beloved and revered by his community of peers. To the world he bore all the trappings of failure. But to his close knit, far-flung friends he was a star and a legend; an irresistible, unforgettable, irreplaceable friend. Daniel died at age 23 from a drug overdose. For the Love of Daniel is an account of his life-a roller coaster ride of sadness and joy, heartache and solace, laughter, tears, tumult and rest. It is also a careful account of Daniel's after life, and the chain of extraordinary events that moved the hearts and consciousness of those who grieved him. Most of all the book is a love story, Daniel's testament to the unalterable immense power of love, which offers even ultimate human tragedies a softer landing, the possibility of a happy ending.