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A W A R D S                                                                                           Autographed book is  $ 5.95  plus shipping. Comes with autographed head shot.

International Book Awards

GRAND PRIZE: Spirituality “Sacred Light” Award

WINNER: Autobiography/Memoir category

WINNER: Gay & Lesbian: Non-Fiction category

WINNER: Non-Fiction Narrative category

WINNER: True Crime: Non-Fiction category

The National Best Books Awards

WINNER: Autobiography/Memoir category

“The soap sensation who played Phillip Chancellor on The Young and the Restless has written a terrific, gut-punching memoir that chronicles his triumph over an unspeakable family tragedy…Chilling, hopeful, spiritual – you’ll never read anything like it.”
———-Michael Logan, TV GUIDE

“A true-life tale of love and loss, terror and triumph that will take your breath away – and play on every single emotion you own.”
———-Bill Harris, E! ENTERTAINMENT TV, NATIONAL ENQUIRER

“Millions of viewers fell in love with Thom Bierdz on The Young and the Restless unaware that his real life was more dramatic than any soap opera. This book proves he is not just another pretty face- but an artist of substance, power and talent.”
———-Daniel R. Coleridge, TVGUIDE.COM

“As a writer, I am amazed at how many people come to me and say their story is interesting enough for a memoir…On the other hand, Thom Bierdz’s book had to be written. His gripping story of family, murder, insanity, and forgiveness leaps off the pages…horrifying…inspiring…riveting.”
———-Political activist David Mixner, author of A STRANGER AMONG FRIENDS

“A different kind of psychic message from a mom figures prominently in Thom Bierdz’ inspirational memoir…fascinating, profoundly moving stuff…It is so worth your while!”
———-M. Logan, SOAP OPERA DIGEST

“Very special…Thom became obsessed with delving into his mother’s murder and his brother’s mental illness, which resulted in a reconciliation with the sibling who ended their mother’s life and produced the haunting and painfully honest memoir…that mixes Bierdz’s writing with his paintings. I promise you, it’s a really engrossing and deeply personal read.”
———-Greg Hernandez, DAILY NEWS.COM, FRONTIERS

“…not as much about forgiveness as it is about the kind of strength and spiritual carpentry necessary to repair the disengaging structure of one American family.”
———-Lucian K. Truscott, author of DRESS GRAY

“Bierdz has the courage to be truthful about his own erratic behavior in the aftermath of this terrible tragedy. But he came to recognize that we all have the power to control our destinies…Thom Bierdz, a proud gay man, is now one of Los Angeles’ most successful and in-demand artists. His journey from darkness into the light is one of the year’s most illuminating and inspirational reads…the sublime, haunting FORGIVING TROY will stay with you long after you finish reading it.”
———-David Alexander Nahmod, EXPRESSGAYNEWS.COM

“Encompassing universal themes of love, forgiveness and redemption, the reader is left with a feeling that even in the midst of the most tragic situations, hope abides and family triumphs. Being likened to A BEAUTIFUL MIND and RAINMAN, his story will both break your heart and heal your spirit.”
———-Nicholas Snow, NOTES FROM HOLLYWOOD

“Shakespearean in its tragic underpinnings, FORGIVING TROY fearlessly tackles a litany of societal ills that ostensibly seem insurmountable, yet the book reverberates with the clear ring of redemption. Author – artist – activist Thom Bierdz has dysfunction running through his veins, but just like a junkie in the process of hardcore rehabilitation, he wages a war against his demons.”
———-Michael Kearns, IN MAGAZINE

“The must-read memoir of 2010! An epic, raw and overwhelming story of tragedy, chaos, humanity, and ultimately compassion. A rare book that dives, unapologetically and uncensored, into the workings of an American family torn apart by matricide and mental illness. Highly recommended!”
———-Jeffrey Keen, USABOOKNEWS.COM

“It’s been said that the greatest mark of the human spirit is its ability to overcome impossible personal tragedy, and no one exemplifies that statement more than artist Thom Bierdz.”
———-Joe Thompson, IN MAGAZINE

“This is a tale of fame found and lost, murder, mental illness, mysticism, emotional dysfunction and soap opera – both on and off screen.”
———-Olivier Bjorksater-Bleylock, DNA MAGAZINE

“Matricide! Suicide! Paranoid schizophrenia! Sound like elements of a juicy soap opera? Not to former The Young and the Restless hunk Thom Bierdz – those horrors are part of his true family story. And the actor is going public with them in his startling new autobiography…”
———-Gil Kaan, NATIONAL ENQUIRER
“A truly amazing and intriguing book…..you will want to call your family and tell them how much you love them……my glass will be half full for the rest of my life.” ———-Dana Caprina, GAY CHICAGO MAGAZINE
“It made me see Troy and the millions of souls like him in a gentle and forgiving way which I always thought it should be the way things are but could never articulate. It was beautiful.” ———–Nick Salamone, author of ALL SOULS DAY
“It reads so fast, but gives such great detail. One would think that story of this depth and dimension would be at least a thousand pages long.” ———-Neal Levine, ASI ENTERTAINMENT

Readers:
…your book is stunning. Truly and sincerely stunning. I’ve been consumed by it all week, either reading it or thinking about it constantly — you have not helped my chronic insomnia any this week. I like to think I’m usually fairly articulate, especially since I write for a living…but I’m a touch at a loss for words. Your honestly is so raw, your personal journey so haunting, I’m in a mixed state of being pained, empathetic, overwhelmed, exhilarated and incredibly inspired…
———-A(deleted)[email protected]

…I’m totally NOT surprised that TV GUIDE would rave about your book. Yours is an amazing story of overcoming unimaginable odds.
———-p(deleted)[email protected]

Have you ever read any of the works of Richard Bach by any chance? “Jonathan Livingston Seagull?” “Illusions?” Been pondering ad naseum the last time I was effected quite this way by another book, and it suddenly dawned on me…Trust me, the fact that I’m asking you this is as high a compliment as I can pay an author. “Illusions” changes my life literally every time I read it, although it’s been quite a few years since the last time. Just had to ask 🙂
———-AWStern

It’s not what I expected, in that I thought it might be a straight rendition of what happened and how it affected you, a bit of a sob story. If it had been that then fair enough, the story is quite incredible, harrowing and tragic – sob away! But what has struck me most about the book is your absolute honesty about yourself. It would be so easy to leave details out about yourself and just tell the story with you as the victim; but the guinea pig thing, the monkey thing, your drifting into multiple personalities, the fact that you recognize your art as being similar to that of schizophrenics, the parallels you draw between you and Troy… these things are amazing to find in this book and give it so much more depth. It also makes the more unbelievable aspects (the message from your mum for example) much easier to believe because you have been so honest about the more disturbing facets of your own personality. I know most feedback is probably about your story and how horrendous it is and how you have coped but as an English teacher I tend to take the content as read, literally, and look at how you have told the story. I think the structure is really good, you pop in and out of the past well and keep us on the edge of our seats with some of your cliffhangers (once a soap star…). I particularly like your interest in symbols and irony – the miracle baby, for example, tears your heart out when you read it – and I think you express more difficult ideas and truths about yourself in a great mixture of straightforward honesty and imagery.
———-mu(deleted)@onetel.com

… your own personal life force literally flows off the pages…
———-A(deleted)ern

…you may well have written the most self-analytical biography since Brian Wilson’s book “Wouldn’t It Be Nice.” That one was brutally honest. Congratulations, Thom, you’re not just another Hollywood bimbo…
———-ma(deleted)[email protected]

I was so intensely into the book that I actually missed my flight (they claimed that they kept paging me!) and had to fly standby on the second flight out. I didn’t mind–I had the company of a good book only to realize that what I was reading would change the way I think about life, about others and the challenges all of us face in our lives. I finished the book the next night and I have to tell you that your courage to share your life’s journey is an incredible gift that you have given all of us.
———-rich(deleted)[email protected]

I felt like I was intruding into your soul. Honest, I thought…I shouldn’t be here. This is private. That is how good your style of writing is…
———-ANN(deleted)[email protected].

I knew while watching you on The Young and the Restless that there was something about you, your acting or maybe just your presence that came through the television. I truly believe there is a power that can not be explained and that power is with you for sure.
———-dc(deleted)@ci.lewiston.me.us

I have never, ever read such a moving, brutally honest and well written autobiography… I finished reading it last night and said WOW. I really could not believe how one person can go through so much and still be sane…it really is life changing mate. I really believe the book can show people that anything is possible…
———-IA(deleted)@aol.com

The feelings that you describe and the journey you experienced for your healing are so relatable. I think people would read it thinking it is a story about matricide, or schizophrenia etc. What you walk away with is a story that sits with you about family, relationships, feeling unsure and the gift of living your life with integrity…
———-fki(deleted).net

It’s an amazing book. Period. It was like a chocolate candy bar that I simply couldn’t put down…Your book is truly a testament to love and forgiveness, and I can’t wait to recommend it to everyone I know…What a gift you have given to the world…
———-km(deleted)[email protected]

Thom is just friggin’ out there…laying himself bare. It’s staggering…
———-Julie(deleted) @sabre-holdings.com

…the book as a whole, swept over me in a way in which I felt what was being described at a spiritual level more than a cognitive level…I also appreciated that you resisted imparting too much of the “I” and “me” factor into the book…You took a story that, in the wrong hands, could be reduced to a made-for-tv movie where the only feelings that it would evoke in the viewer would be “ooh” or “ick”, and turned the story into something that touches the reader at a spiritual level.
———-aivi(deleted)[email protected]
…As a person who talks for a living, I rarely find myself speechless…Thom’s words are as vivid as his paintings and will be with me for the rest of my life…
———-Thomas ance <mc(deleted)[email protected]> To: ste(deleted)ahoo.com

On another note, the writing is compelling and beautiful – a literary feast of description. His artistry shines through his words…
———-llu(deleted)@aol.com

I do mean wow! You are an incredible man and I was so moved by your story. I loved the TV Guide blurb (how could he not have loved your book?)…does Oprah know about you?
———-j(deleted)[email protected]

…inclusion of your paintings made the read so interesting in the way that not only could I feel what you experienced emotionally through your words, but also through your paintings…I look forward to the movie version of ‘ Forgiving Troy ‘. I believe your mother is watching over you with great pride and satisfaction for what you have overcome and for taking the journey of forgiving your brother. I’d like to finish by saying that as you, I too believe that, the one who forgives is the one who benefits the most.
———-eva(deleted)@hotmail.com

I gave one of your books to my niece, Jenny. She told me she knew who you were because The Young and The Restless has been her favorite soap for ages. She really surprised me. She NEVER reads but she’s been reading your book like a fiend. She told me she’s having a hard time putting it down. I can’t believe it. She NEVER reads.
———-wa(deleted)[email protected]

You rock! Who would have known when I was watching you (and having a huge crush on you too) on the Young and the Restless years ago, that you would emerge into such an even bigger talent that you were then. Love your art, your heart…I’m really glad to see you working towards the light instead of slipping into the darkness as so many other people would have done in your shoes…
———-sth(deleted)[email protected]

…I watched you on The Young and the Restless…your eyes are pictures of depth, concern… and even back then…eyes that communicated a need to communicate. Now you have and what you have written is going to change perceptions, lives.
———-C(deleted)w321435

…you are a great reminder that we can overcome anything with enough courage and determination.
———-no(deleted)[email protected]

I admire the message your book conveys- that it’s better to forgive and make peace rather than carry a grudge, full of hate, within yourself for the rest of your life.
———-skj(deleted)[email protected]

Your book arrived last Friday and by Saturday afternoon I was finished reading it. I found myself unable to put the book down once I started reading it. All I can say is WOW
———-ca(deleted)[email protected]

i can never understand how you put the trauma into words, and i am in awe of your stability.i couldn’t put it down! i wept constantly, and smiled too, at the strength of your spirit! …all that can i say is “wow!”
———-D(deleted)5