5150 - by Tony del Zompo (Paperback)

About the Book

5150 A Manic Depressive Adventure is the first memoir by writer Tony del Zompo. Tony was by all appearances a regular guy. Although he struggled with alcoholism and addiction during his adolescence, he got clean and sober before his twenty-second birthday and went on to start a family, complete a graduate education, and begin a career in health care. Tony did not realize at the time, however, that sobriety was only the beginning; he had not idea that he had reached adulthood completely unaware of the work that remained. The story truly begins when his marriage ends. At times funny, frequently gut-wrenching, what ensues is a wildly unpredictable journey that can only end when the protagonist is confronted with an opportunity to make the last decision he may ever have to face.

Book Synopsis

5150 A Manic Depressive Adventure is the first full length memoir by writer Tony del Zompo. Tony grew up in a troubled home. His father, a Korean War Veteran, an alcoholic, and a San Francisco Police Sergeant was an ominous presence throughout his childhood and adolescence. His mother, a hairstylist with an insatiable need for control, was too busy trying to keep the house intact to notice how the family chaos had affected her youngest son. Tony began to medicate himself with booze and drugs at an early age, and although he sobered up briefly in his twenties, he reached his young adulthood completely unaware that he was about to assume responsibilities for which he was completely unprepared.

On the outside, it looked like Tony had it all together. He had a beautiful wife and daughter, and a promising career ahead of him. Despite it all, Tony could not outrun the childhood that followed him with each and every step he took. When his wife asked for a divorce, he spiraled into addiction once again. What follows is an unpredictable, wild ride into the abyss.

This is the story a regular guy who, by all appearances, had everything and lost it all along with his sanity. We follow Tony into the psych ward, jail, to a brief volunteer stint at Ground Zero in New York, and back to California where he survives a near-fatal automobile accident. The reader can't help but root for him as he recovers from his injuries and makes a comeback, only to burn it all back down one last time before confronting what might have been the final decision he would ever have to make.

Tony writes with an urgency that compels the reader to turn the page. While some may find it difficult to digest, anyone who has endured a mental health crisis or stood back and watched while a loved-one is consumed by addiction will identify with the story, and perhaps even find themselves someplace within the pages wishing that they could do something to pull Tony out of his downward spiral before it's too late.

About the Author

Tony is a physical therapist who lives and works in Santa Cruz, CA. Tony remains an avid surfer, snowboarder, and writes in his spare time. 5150 A Manic Depressive Adventure is his first full length book, but his pieces have appeared in Genesis Magazine, The Catamaran Literary Reader, and The Santa Cruz Sentinel. He has begun working on his second memoir, Finding Jessica, the story of how he recovered from his mental health crisis and reunited with his daughter after a ten-year estrangement. Although Tony enjoys clinical practice, his intention is to retire from physical therapy in order to write full time.
Tony is also an accomplished speaker. He has participated in high school outreach programs in Santa Cruz and San Francisco, and in 2019 he presented the keynote address during the closing ceremony of The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention's Out of the Darkness Overnight in San Francisco.