Earl Rhodes, a Londoner, tried many times to quit drinking, cigarettes and drugs, and went back every time. After a separation left him sad and listless, a book he found at a London exhibition in 1997 began the change that let him quit smoking weed.
Han Jiao-Jeon, a division chief at GM Korea, drank every day after work and smoked two packs a day while his marriage seemed to be ending. At 40 he found Falun Dafa, and found he could quit drinking as the wanting fell away. Coworkers now say he has lived two lives.
Tonggui Ye, an engineer, started smoking at about 18 and was up to two and a half packs a day, quarreling with his wife about it all the time. His longest try at quitting lasted half a day. In January 1997 he told her, "I'll quit smoking from now on" — and did.
Sterling Campbell, a New York drummer who toured with David Bowie and Duran Duran, spent eight years on drugs, daily drinking and two packs of cigarettes a day. A pamphlet handed to him in a park in 1998 began his way out — and a harder lesson after it.
Joel Chipkar, a Canadian who works in his family's business, grew up in a home where everyone yelled. His rage cost him his fiancée of six years. A book from his mother, and a failure the very next morning, began the slow work of learning to control anger.
Santhosh Krishnamurthy, a software manager near Philadelphia, was short-tempered at home and pushy at work — then an autoimmune illness left him feeling hopeless. A coworker pointed him to Falun Dafa in 2015. Slowly he stopped being angry, and his daughter noticed first.
A mother of three from eastern Kentucky lived by one rule: if anyone wronged her, she wronged them worse. After a family fight left her in a Texas homeless shelter, a library video led her to Falun Gong — and a prank at a gas station showed her how to begin to let go of anger.
A Silicon Valley vice president was carrying a divorce, a bankrupt employer, heartbreak and long sleepless nights. One morning a stranger in a park asked if he'd like to join her group's exercises. That night he slept well — and Falun Gong became how he began to reduce stress.
Tina Sofos, a businesswoman in Western Australia, went through a broken marriage, a family that turned away and two breakdowns that put her in hospital. In 2004 a stranger at a funeral handed her a flyer for Falun Dafa. Slowly, the emotional stress gave way to calm, and her family came back.
Chowa Choo, born in Malaysia and living in Sweden, chased money, status and long office hours — while sleeping badly, worrying constantly and feeling inadequate at work and at home. After taking up Falun Dafa, Chowa learned to let go of work stress and the need to feel important.