Nancy McCann Vericker and her son, JP, are co-authors of their award- winning book, Unchained: Our Family’s Addiction Mess Is Our Message, the true story of his descent into opioid and alcohol addiction,  homelessness and hopelessness to now long-term recovery as co-founder of Ark Behavioral Health.

Unchained recounts how through faith, tough love, and 12-Step program, the Vericker family helped JP, now in recovery for more than a decade, return home to a renewed life. Their book provides hope for families grappling with addiction.

Nancy and her son have shared their family’s story on the TODAY Show and Conversations with Cardinal Dolan, as well as conferences, radio programs, and newspaper and magazine articles. Unchained won a 2019 award from the Catholic Press Association in the Healing Book Category. Nancy, who has been in recovery for more than 30 years, has been honored as a Person Who Made A Difference by the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence/Westchester.   

Nancy writes a weekly blog for families struggling with addiction that can be found on her website, nancyvericker.com and Facebook’s The Addicts Family and Mothers Against Substance Abuse pages. She is a Recovery Coach and works as a Family Liaison at Ark Behavioral Health. She serves as Youth Minister at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church and as a Spiritual Director at Fairfield University. She also works as a retreat and conference speaker. Nancy holds a master’s degree in spiritual direction from Fordham University. She has been married to her husband Joe for 37 years. The couple have four children and one grandson.

JP Vericker is co-founder of Ark Behavioral Health. He is board certified in the treatment of substance use disorder. He began his work in the substance abuse treatment field as a night shift technician and has worked his way up in his career through a variety of positions including halfway house manager, detox counselor, detox manager, licensing consultant, and therapist. He lives in Massachusetts.