Marco Broccardo — Rocks: Book review

Review by Val Viljoen

Marco Broccardo: Rocks — One Man’s Climb from Drugs to Dreams

Marco Broccardo comes from a stable and loving family. He entered high school with the knowledge that drug use was a dangerous and self destructive activity, and the resolve to never partake. Yet he was a full-blown drug addict by the age of 16.

Rocks is a frank and revealing account of the all too common journey down the slippery slope of drug use, through the deception of marijuana as “not actually a drug”, pressure by others whose opinion is respected and the “honeymoon period” of enjoyable highs, to the horror of a reality where every moment is dominated by the need to use again. Stealing, lying, manipulation of others, drug dealing and brushes with death rapidly became prominent in Marco’ s life, as he dragged his family into a nightmare.

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He describes his total callousness towards others as he pursued the never ending goal of finding the next hit. Three stints of rehab had little positive effect. The turning point came when the family sent him to Noupoort Christian Care Centre and his mother totally disowned him as a result of years of manipulation and abuse.

At Noupoort it was made clear that drug addiction is not a disease but a choice. Here he also had a life-changing encounter with Jesus. He realised that with His help he had the power to make the right choices and overcome his addiction.

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It was during his time at Noupoort that he first had the idea, together with two other recovering addicts of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and the book includes the account of this climb.

Also included are accounts by various family members giving their perspectives on Marco’s story. This includes a piece by his wife, Catherine, who he met at Noupoort. They married as recovered addicts when still very young, so it is further testimony to God’s transforming power that they remain happily married.

This is a story of great victory – Marco is now CEO of a multi-million rand company. This enables him to finance drug rehabilitation as well as drug awareness initiatives.

I can highly recommend this book as giving great insight into the mind of an addict, as well as holding out a wonderful hope of full recovery to anyone with the resolve to change and the wisdom to invite Jesus into this process.

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The book can be purchased online and royalties from the sale of the book will go to Marco’s non-profit organisation, Mountain Heights.