"The Last Cookie Club" Released

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                Contact: Beth Dickman

July 16, 2009                                                                            Imagine Marketing

                                                                                                     702-837-8996

‘The Last Cookie Club’ released; novel’s stories

based on real people’s battles with addiction to food 

Through humor and heartbreak, triumph and despair, members of

The Last Cookie Club battle their destructive behaviors

LAS VEGAS – “Larry Brennan, owner of the Lucky Charm – one of the most successful neighborhood casinos in Las Vegas – seems to have it all: A loving wife and family, close friends, money in the bank. But beneath the surface, he is slowly dying. All his life, Larry has suffered from a compulsive addiction to food, a dependence suffocating him, killing him, threatening to consume him.”

Although it’s the lead paragraph on the back cover of the new novel, “The Last Cookie Club,” it’s not nearly as imaginative a statement as the book’s genre of “fiction” might imply.

“Larry Brennan” is based on Gary Mahoney, former Las Vegas casino owner and author of “The Last Cookie Club.”

Nearly all his life, Mahoney has battled an addiction to food. His passion throughout that time has been investigating a variety of programs and treatments, learning all he could about his addiction to help himself and others suffering from this and similar destructive behaviors.

Thus, “The Last Cookie Club” goes beyond tactics and fad diets to uncover the real reasons why people overeat. By turns poignant, humorous and enlightening, “The Last Cookie Club’s” all-too-human characters travel on an unforgettable journey of joy and sorrow, triumph and despair that anyone who has faced that last cookie at 3 a.m. and asked, “What do I do now?” can surely understand.

“I wrote this book because I have been dealing with an eating addiction for more than 35 years,” Mahoney said. “I have lost a substantial amount of weight during this period, probably 20 to 25 times. Each time I lost anywhere from 30 to 70 pounds. More times than I care to remember, I’ve asked myself, ‘What is wrong with me? Please God, please someone, please anyone help me. Why in the world would I gain weight, then lose weight and then gain the weight right back again. Am I crazy?’”

It’s this ongoing struggle that led to Mahoney’s founding of the real-life Last Cookie Club. Although a work of fiction, “The Last Cookie Club” is based on the real people and heart-wrenching stories, like Mahoney’s, of the members of the Last Cookie Club.

The club, which Mahoney began in 2005 while still owner of Mahoney’s Silver Nugget in North Las Vegas, included Mahoney’s employees as well as patrons of the Silver Nugget. The club still lives on today, reminding its members that they’re not alone in their battles.

Mahoney hopes, through this book, to encourage and inspire others throughout the country who are fighting their own battles with addiction and food. Furthermore, he is dedicated to helping any community start up its own Last Cookie Club.

“Those of us who have faced addiction know how seemingly hopeless overcoming that addiction is,” Mahoney said. “It’s for myself and others that I wrote ‘The Last Cookie Club.’ Not to tell them overcoming an addiction is a cinch ‘if you follow these easy steps,’ but to show them they’re not alone. To show them they can do it, and life can get better.”

A detailed account of Mahoney’s ongoing battle with food, as well as his blog, which allows readers and interested parties to join Mahoney on his ongoing quest toward a consistently healthy relationship with food, and more can be found at www.thelastcookieclub.com.

Published by Hardway Press, “The Last Cookie Club” was released this month. Physical copies ($14.95) or downloadable versions ($7.95) of the book can be purchased at www.thelastcookieclub.com or through Amazon.com.

Review copies of “The Last Cookie Club” are available to all media outlets. Call Melissa Rothermel or Beth Dickman at Imagine Marketing at 702-837-8996 or e-mail mrothermel@imnv.com.

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