By Janice Malone
NASHVILLE, TN — If anyone who has a substance abuse problem or has a loved one with this issue, the book. Cracked, But Not Broken: One Woman’s Triumph Over Crack Cocaine by Regina Lewis Duvall, should be a mandatory read. This is not just another book about the evils of a drug addicted lifestyle. It’s an autobiographical story about the horrors and 
dangers of Ms. Duvall’s former life as a drug addict. But there’s also pages filled with hope, redemption and a second chance at life for the author, and many others who will read this book. “When you live the life as an addict, there’s very little that you forget that has happened to you,” says Regina during a recent telephone interview from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
In 1997, Regina was a crack-addicted mother of three who lost custody of her children. She drifted aimlessly from crack house to crack house in search of her next fix. Her days were filled with the endless quest for rock cocaine, street name “kryptonite.” From sun up to sundown, Regina did what she had to do to get her drug fixes. Throughout the book Regina shares the story of being pregnant while continuing to smoke crack because she did not know how to stop. The doctors said her baby would be addicted with many physical and mental disabilities. But by the grace of God, her baby was born drug-free! Years later, that same daughter, Carrie, age 26, went on to graduate from college cum laude, and has a masters’ degree from Clark Atlanta University in with a 4.0 GPA.
“Being a drug addict for 17 years was such a dramatic and dangerous life. I wrote the ‘Cracked But Not Broken’ book to let people know that drug addiction is not a lifestyle that’s glamorous at all!” states Regina. “I had so many issues in my early life that I had kept suppressed for so long. I was then hit with the lengthy illness and later death of my son. It all just put me over the edge. I was looking for some kind of relief from all of the pain I was experiencing, so I turned to drugs.”
Throughout her years of drug addiction, Regina readily admits that she had given up on herself. But not her mother, Carrie Davis, a prominent national Christian evangelist. As she recalls: “My years of drug addiction was devastating to my family. But my mother continued to stand on the Word of God about my life. So many family members told her to just give up on me. But My mother loved me out of those streets and off those drugs. I would often disappear for 3 or more days on drug binges. But when I would return, I’d always go to my mother’s house…My mother would have a plate of food at the table waiting for me because she knew I would be showing up at her house…I am so grateful to God that He allowed my mother to live to see how I was delivered from drugs, years before she became ill…Yes, my mother got the chance to see me in my best new life. I was able to put my mom in a nice house, complete with beautiful furnishings. I was later her caregiver when she came down with dementia before she passed away.”
How did Regina get delivered from a hellacious life of drug addiction? She had a dramatic, unbelievable, supernatural experience with God that’s a must-read encounter, that has to be read in its entirety. She outlines the details in the book.
Today, Ms. Duvall is the mother of four living children and one deceased son, and she’s a happily married wife. What’s even more miraculous is just like her mother, Regina is now also a much-in-demand evangelist/speaker and best-selling author. Her second book, THE POTTER’S TOUCH, picks up where her first book ends, by detailing how God taught her how to live a successful drug-free life over the last 20 years. She’s now retired from the South Carolina Dept of Corrections. Evangelist Regina is a member of Mason Temple Church of God in Christ in Conway, South Carolina.
Regina wears many wonderful hats that benefits others. She’s the Founder and Executive Director of the HOPE Addiction and Recovery Support Group (Youth Empowering Services), a non-profit organization for at risk youth. And she’s the CEO of Empowering James, a second chance employee and education another non-profit. And, she’s an arbitrator for the South Carolina Juvenile Justice and the C.H. Mason Overcomers unit. Regina has traveled to many churches, drug rehabilitation centers, and other outlets sharing her message of hope. Her inspirational books have landed her as a guest on radio, TV shows and publications throughout the country. She was recently interviewed by the 700 Club Christian TV show. Regina says, “I love spreading the message God’s message of hope and deliverance wherever I can, for whomever will listen and accept it.” Contact her at: www.ReginaDuvallspeaks.com
