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 – …
If tears could wash away all pain, this past year surely would have cleansed our world free of it. How deep is that well? Tears shed over the loss of loved ones from COVID, from crazed gunmen, from bombings, and – of course- from opioids. The tragedies strain our hearts. Sadness exhausts our sympathy. There …
A mom asked me recently, “Where should I send my son?” Even to get the question, I knew we were in tough territory. The son, not quite 18, was still under his mother’s roof and under her skin. A recent inpatient stay hadn’t “fixed” him, as the mother had hoped – or worse – expected. …