MSI Press Blog

  From the co-author, Joshua Shea -- I never planned on writing a book like this when I was a kid. I knew I was going to be a writer, although I was shooting for screenwriter or at least staff writer at Saturday Night Live. But there it was, my first book, under my name, published by a real company. “He’s a Porn Addict… Now What?” wasn’t the humorous, heartfelt fictional tale I thought would make my name in the world. It was both a memoir and self-help book geared toward the partners of pornography addicts, co-written by Tony Overbay, a licensed marriage and family therapist who was one of the first people to invite me onto his podcast to speak about my former addiction and journey into recovery.   For most people suffering with the disease, it’s a secretive, shameful place and you feel utterly alone. And like any other addiction, the people around the addict get sick, too. My first book, a self-published memoir about the depths of my addictive journey, introduced me to the concept of

  This week's book back story tells the tale of He's a Porn Addict...Now What? (Overbay and Shea). From the editor -  Joshua Shea had read and was taken with Healing from Incest (Henderson & Emerton, in which an author and her therapist, with permission from the State of Nebraska psychological ethics board, teamed up to tell a compelling story). He and his therapist, Tony Overbay, wanted to do the same. We saw a very positive aspect of these book parallels and offered a contract. From the paperback came a hard cover, e-book (the most popular version of this book), and an audio book. Paperback copies of this book can be purchased at the   MSI Press webstore   at 25% discount with coupon code FF25. For more posts about this book, click HERE .  Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with MSI Press LLC? Check out information on  how to submit a proposal . Interested in receiving a free c

  excerpt from He's a Porn Addict...Now What? (Overbay and Shea) -  Can a guy really look at pictures and images without comparing them to the person he is with?   Tony, the mental health professional:  I know from working with enough addicts that the typical reason someone is addicted to pornography is that it’s a coping mechanism for the parts of their life that they aren't satisfied with and it becomes an addiction they turn to again and again despite the isolation and shame. The pictures in the magazines and the images that they're watching in the videos are an unhealthy escape. But unfortunately, even when they aren’t isolated and are with their wives, they are still preoccupied with the fantasy imagery. A lot of the clients I work with admit they think of pornography when they are intimate with their wives. For young men, the growing rates of erectile dysfunction because of pornography is staggering. They are now growing up with such an unhealthy diet of porn and pic

  San Juan Books is the hybrid division of MSI Press LLC. It allows first-time writers to become published in a traditional way through the reduction of risk by sharing publication costs. All other publishing features are traditional in nature, and most SJB authors go on to be offered traditional contracts for their subsequent books. SJB publications are available as paperback, hard cover, and e-book versions. SJB authors' books very much hold their own against their contemporaries in the traditional publishing division. Indeed, a number of them have outsold their traditional compatriots. Today, San Juan Books presents author Tony Overbay . Together with Joshua Shea, Tony published He's a Porn Addict...Now What? It is one of our more popular books. His book has earned dozens of 5-star reviews. To see more posts about Tony and his book, click HERE .                                         Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter                           Follow MSI Press on  Tw

  How do I know if he’s actually an addict?   Tony, the mental health professional   To be clear, until recently, there wasn’t anything in either the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) or the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Classification of Diseases (ICD) that talked about sexual addiction or pornography addiction. Recently, the WHO updated the ICD to include Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder (CSBD) as a mental health condition. While this designation doesn't exactly meet the standard for addiction, it is definitely the strongest statement made by a body of experts in the field of sexual mental health.   Let me share a very 30,000-foot view of what is happening to the brain when viewing pornography.  When a man watches porn, his brain releases the feel-good drug, dopamine. There is some fascinating research around what is called “The Coolidge Effect.” The idea is that a male will mate with

  Tony Overbay is a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT), who has helped more than 1000 clients. He is, as well, a Certified Mindful Habit Coach, host of the award-winning podcast,  The Virtual Couch , and a popular motivational speaker. He created The Path Back, a faith-based online pornography recovery program that has helped thousands break free from the destructive influences of pornography addiction and compulsive sexual behavior. He is co-author of  He’s a Porn Addict…Now What? For more posts about Tony and his book, click HERE .

My First Questions How do I know if he’s actually an addict? Tony, the mental health professional When a client comes into my office to talk about her partner who she thinks is an addict, she’ll usually begin to list all the reasons she’s sure he’s addicted to pornography. Then she’ll ask me the question, “How do I really know?” At this point, I recognize she’s doubting herself and questioning her intuition. This usually happens for one of two reasons: either she thinks she’s not qualified to make that diagnosis or, most commonly, she doesn’t want it to be true. I’ll hear the client’s entire monologue about her partner’s behavior, a behavior that led her to my office in the first place, only to hear her say, “But I’m probably wrong.” What she’s really thinking is ‘Please tell me I’m wrong.’ Chances are, she’s not wrong, but there is help, and there is hope. There are countless definitions of addiction, each with its own little nuances, but for the work I do, I l

   Tony Overbay and Joshua Shea, authors of the popular He's a Porn Addict...Now What? , teamed up, for the 200th podcast of the Virtual Couch, with Joshua, as host, interviewing Tony. It is a great interview!! Check out the Virtual Couch podcast HERE ! Or listen to audio only HERE . And take a look at their great book! Details HERE . From review by Mental Health @ Hom e: The authors aren’t here to judge partner or addict; their goal is to help both find healing, and as such, I believe it makes an important contribution to the field. From review by Goodreads : With He’s a Porn Addict…Now What? An Expert and a Former Addict Answer Your Questions, you’ll get pertinent answers from both sides of the equation. Tony Overbay is a licensed marriage and family therapist who has worked with thousands of couples dealing with pornography addiction. Also host of the popular The Virtual Couch podcast, Tony tackles your questions from the expert side of things. Joshua Shea, a

Joshua Shea, co-author of He's a Porn Addict...Now What? , has done some unsettling reserarch. He shares it with us in today's guest post.: When Donald Trump went on TV that Wednesday night in early March as one of the last people to admit what many of us had come to recognize in the previous 72 hours – the Coronavirus was the real deal – one of my first thoughts went to how this was going to be the single greatest boon to the pornography industry since the invention of the Internet. We’re still in it – probably not even at the halfway point – and it turns out, I was unfortunately correct. As much as I detest PornHub, I’ve got to give them credit for the statistics they provide. Granted, they are not independently verified and sometimes they leave out crucial information (such as ignoring the fact “teen” is a popular search term in their annual report) but I think they are providing a unique window into what is happening. In late February and into the first week of March

Great, insightful review of Overbay and Shea's groundbreaking book, He's a Porn Addict...Now What? in Mental Health @ Home . Excerpts: The book is written in a very conversational tone.  It’s very honest and straightforward, and there’s no skirting around issues.  It is not prescriptive, and different angles and potential strategies are explored.  The book is very practical, giving very reasonable suggestions that could be implemented in the real world. ***** Some of the questions addressed in the book: Isn’t it normal for most guys to like pornography? Is he like this because I won’t do certain things in the bedroom? Why won’t he just stop? How much do we tell the kids? Can’t I just pray this away? Can I force him to get help? Will I ever be able to trust him again? ***** I also appreciated that the book makes space for all the difficult feelings a partner may be struggling with.  The authors aren’t here to judge partner or addict; their goal is to

What MSI books are people talking about? Those that talk about those things that people find difficult to talk about but need to: He's a Porn Addict...Now What? (Overbay and Shea) available in hard cover, paperback, and e-book Healing from Incest (Henderson and Emerton) available in hard cover, parperback, and e-book Both are tastefully written but also frank and informative. Find them at the MSI press webtore at the MSI press website OR online sellers (Amazon, B&N, etc.) OR your local library or bookstore (if not there, ask).