Carol Freed Gobler authors Lighthouse: Weapon of Rescue: One Town’s Battle Against the Monster of Drug Abuse

ATASCADERO – Lighthouse Atascadero, a local organization founded in 2011 to combat drug and alcohol abuse in Atascadero through awareness, prevention, and intervention, has published a book chronicling the fight of several local families with the help of a supportive community against an unseen evil like addiction.

Lighthouse: Weapon of Rescue: One Town’s Battle Against the Monster of Drug Abuse is written by local first-time author Carol Freed Gobler and is now available in paperback on Amazon.com.

“This story is true — and proof that pain, sorrow and loss can be the very thing needed to unite a town,” The provided excerpt on Amazon reads. “The narrative unfolds at the beginning, as the town first begins its battle against the monster of illicit drug abuse. The war then broadens as it becomes waged, as well, on the subsequent devastation of its many treasured young people.”

Gobler spent 30 years working in the Atascadero School District as a music teacher and has become an author in her retirement.

“I retired and started working with Donn Clickard down at the Lighthouse,” Gobler told the Atascadero News. “The more I learned, the more I interviewed the people involved, I was deeply drawn in and so moved by the stories of how their boys died, how the families coped, and how they have decided to help other families not experience the same situation. That is how Lighthouse grew.”

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Gobler conducted many interviews with local community members, police officers, firefighters, City Council members, social workers, and more and tells their compelling story in just under 200 pages. The book, which costs $14.99 on Amazon, will use the proceeds generated to continue to help Lighthouse Atascadero fund the programs they support.

“As it says, it is one town’s battle against the monster of drug abuse,” Lighthouse President Donn Clickard said. “And it is truly, truly that and more.”

The book tells the stories of Lighthouse and serves as a beacon itself as it shows step by step how one small community can make a difference with the proper care and education.