Strong in the Broken Places

Wellness expert Quentin Vennie shouldn’t be alive—he’s walked a path that many don’t live long enough to write about. Surrounded by dead ends and haunted by addiction, abandonment and violence, he’s battled anxiety and depression for most of his life. He’s been shot at twice, sold drugs up and down the East Coast, lingered on the brink of incarceration, and stared down death more than once. But when another moment of crisis arose, the Baltimore native made a conscious choice to turn away from his self-destructive path and began a journey of natural healing that ultimately saved his life.

Vennie jumped headfirst into the world of health and healing, and when he opened his arms, it opened its arms in return. By adopting the practice of juicing using a juicer he bought at a local convenience store, plus incorporating yoga and meditation into his lifestyle, he discovered what he now calls the “wellness trinity” that repaired his body, allowed him to cut back on and then quit the many medications he was on for anxiety and mood disorders, overcome his addiction, and transform his soul.

Woven throughout this extraordinary story are the meditations, juice recipes, and yoga poses that helped Vennie heal. This is a riveting story about taking the harder path to health, wellness, and healing regardless of the obstacles that stand in the way. Vennie is living proof that during our weakest moments, we have the power to unlock unimaginable strength.

Quentin Vennie is a wellness expert, speaker, and mental health advocate. After years of struggling with poverty, anxiety, depression, and addiction on the streets of Baltimore, he set out on a journey to heal himself. He was able to do so through his Trinity of Wellness system—a combination of yoga, meditation, and fruit and vegetable juices. He has written for the Huffington Post, MindBodyGreen, Thrive Global, Mantra Yoga + Health magazine, and more. He lives in New Jersey.

Jon Sternfeld is a writer whose work includes Crisis Point: Why We Must—and How We Can—Overcome Our Broken Politics in Washington and Across America with Senators Trent Lott and Tom Daschle and A Stone of Hope: A Memoir, with Jim St. Germain. He lives in New York.