|
Never Enough: One Lawyer's True Story of How He Gambled His Career Away |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Never Enough is the shocking, true story of Michael J. Burke, who went from being a successful lawyer, loving father and husband, and respected member of his community to a closet alcoholic and gambling addict to the tune of $1,600,000, using client's trust account funds.
Follow Michael Burke as he descends into his addictions, then must confess all to his family and clients. Then read about his arraignment, and the actual transcripts from his sentencing. Burke then shares stories of his prison life, and then the painful narrative of how his lies and deceit affected his family. In the last two chapters of this important book you'll learn how you can identify a compulsive gambler, and what treatment options are available for this devastating disease. The appendix features comments Mr. Burke has received from the many presentations he has made on the dangers of compulsive gambling, as well as the letters to the court written by Michael Burke's friends in the community before his sentencing, and a list of gambling addiction resources for each state.
Never Enough is a succinct, powerful book that will open your eyes to the reality of gambling and alcohol addiction and what it can do to any professional's life -- even in the happiest and most successful of situations.
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Mr. Burke's story is fascinating reading. In his book he puts his experiences on a personal level. His experience is like that of others I have seen who have benefited from Gamblers Anonymous after their devastating downward trajectory. The obsession with gambling and its consequences are only too apparent in this narrative. The arrest, arraignment, sentencing and imprisonment of a well respected lawyer, member of the community and family man is a tale that all should read. I recommend it highly."
--Henry R. Lesieur, Ph.D., Rhode Island Hospital
"Beguiling and powerful, Never Enough portrays addiction and its aftermath from the inside out. Much like gambling seduced Mike Burke, his story unfolds and we realize that we are on a parallel journey into the charmingly deceptive and progressive disease that changed his life."
--Nancy Stek, Assistant Director of the New Jersey Lawyers Assistance Program
"Michael Burke shares his story as a lawyer, gambling addict, convict and loving family man. Reading Never Enough, I was on the roller coaster with the ups and downs of his moods. I felt the exhilaration, craving and desperation of wanting more, more, more. This is a book to be read by those in the profession who are making decisions about a lawyer's livelihood --discipline hearing boards, judges, professional liability insurance carriers -- as well as all lawyers who may have a gambling problem or witness it in a colleague."
--Iowa Lawyer Assistance Program Director, Hugh G. Grady
"When Michael Burke read excerpts from his book to members of the Washtenaw County Bar Association, the attorneys were riveted by his compelling story of the hometown boy who became one of the most successful attorneys in town only to lose it all to an ever-increasing addiction to gambling. In Never Enough, Michael shares with great passion and insight his fascinating transformation from loving husband and father to disgraced prison inmate. Remarkably, you'll find yourself rooting for a man who let his family and friends down through deceit and the theft of over a million dollars from the clients who entrusted him with their affairs. But that's what redemption is about: the recognition of wrongs committed, the drive to make things right for the aggrieved, and the devotion to preventing others from succumbing to the same demons that led to one's downfall. Michael will receive no income from Never Enough until all his victims are made whole. I am hopeful that those who read his story will share it with others, thereby assisting Michael in his mission of warning others about the dangers of casino gambling. I heartily recommend this book for every lawyer in America and to anyone whose life is being sadly touched by a loved one undergoing an addiction of any kind.
--John W. Reiser, President,
Washtenaw County Bar Association, Ann Arbor, Michigan
|
|
|
|
|
|
