When addiction first crept into our household 11 years ago, I started keeping a journal. Retreating to clean white paper became my refuge. The blank pages stared back, non-judgmental and welcoming. On their unvarnished surface I poured out my anguish, fear, confusion and shame. It was the only place – until many years later – …
At a meeting recently a father shared this: “I don’t like feeling like a warden around my son.” The word startled me. His son, now in his thirties, has a history of addiction and recovery and was living on his own for years. But a serious injury forced his move back into his parents’ home …
Certainly not kindergarten. And certainly nothing I learned there prepared me to help a child with addiction. What did – and still does – are the friendships and shared experiences of friends in Al-Anon. But just when I think I’ve got this, something happens to test my resolve. After spending a month visiting with Jacob …