Another "Rebel Without a Cause" - Mark N. Greene, My James Dean

PHOENIX, AZ, November 15, 2010 (Press-News.org) Silvia I. Petretti has re-opened the painful wounds of her son's tragic suicide and exposed his years of loneliness, depression, alcohol use, and drug addiction. Mark N. Greene died at the age of 39 on May 14, 2009, almost 46 years after the death of Actor James Dean, a cultural icon and heart throb whose life mirrored that of Greene's, both on-screen and off.

James Dean died in a tragic car crash at the age of 24. In an interview with actor Gig Young in 1955 for an episode of Warner Bros. Presents to promote Rebel Without a Cause, instead of saying the popular phrase, "The life you save may be your own," Dean is reported to have ad-libbed, "The life you might save might be mine." Like Dean, Mark N. Greene suffered from bipolar depression. Through a mother's prayers, Greene escaped many a car crash; unfortunately, he was unable to avoid his eventual life "crash" due to an accidental drug overdose.

According to a 2010 report from the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention, suicide is the fourth leading cause of death for adults between the ages of 18 and 65 years in the United States (28,628 suicides). Every day approximately 90 Americans take their own lives, which amounts to every 15 minutes. Ninety percent of them have a diagnosable psychiatric disorder at the time of their death and over 75 percent suffer from major depression due to alcoholism and drug use.

Depression affects nearly 10 percent of Americans ages 18 and over in a given year, or more than 24 million people. About 15 percent of the population will suffer from clinical depression at some time during their lifetime. Thirty percent of all clinically depressed patients attempt suicide; half of them ultimately die by suicide.

In the book, Mark N. Greene, My James Dean, Silvia Petretti addresses these issues. Humorist and Author, Ethel Ann Pemberton, says the book "moved me to tears many times, and is a carbon copy of my grandson's life, although he hasn't been in prison. You [Silvia] have experienced such love and joy and extreme sadness and it all came through so loud and clear."

From Silvia: "Mark sent me two Mother's Day cards on May 10, 2009, one, a week early. He said he wanted to be the first of everyone to send me a card. The second card came the Saturday before Mother's Day. It said, 'Another Mother's Day card just to let you know how much I love you.' I wish he would have sent three."

Mark. N. Greene, My James Dean by Silvia Petretti retails for $12.95 and is distributed through FM Publishing Company, Lulu.com, Ingram Book Publishing, Barnes and Noble, Amazon.com, NACSCORP, Rittenhouse, Expresso Book Machine, and 15 other distributors throughout the United Kingdom.

About the Author

Silvia Petretti is a divorced mother of three children and has been writing for many years. This is her first book. Mark's story is one she had to write for his sake and for her sanity and self-healing to combat her own depression and loneliness after losing her youngest son to whom she was so close and dear. Ms. Petretti's next book, The Glass Pedestal, is scheduled to be released in January, 2011.

For more information about Mark N. Greene, My James Dean, please visit www.fmpublishingcompany.com or call FM Publishing Company at 877-392-3906.