Recently I met a young woman named “Jen.” After six years on the run, she is living in a female sober living house and testing her first weeks of sobriety. Surrounded by women who are months and years ahead of her in recovery, she craves the strength and experience they provide to guide her each …
With the opioid crisis still ravaging American cities and towns, the AMAA, the largest national organization representing the physician family, has invited Lisa to address its annual conference in Chicago this June. Lisa’s son Jacob will join her to offer families affiliated with the American Medical Association a true story of recovery and hope.
Even today I cannot recall his last name. He went by some nickname, Art or Andy. He was the first therapist in our family’s lives. Just knowing we were “seeing a therapist” felt so strange. But I was desperate to find someone to help my child. A colleague had said he was “good with kids.” …
Lisa Hillman, former president of the AAMC Foundation, will discuss her recent book,Secret No More. The Hineni committee invites you to be present with us as she unabashedly shares her personal memoir about discovering her beautiful, “perfect” son had a drug addiction problem, and how all parents need to be aware and ready to have discussions about …
Wearing a cream-colored polo shirt and dark jeans, the young man stands at the front of the room. Before him is a worn, wooden podium atop a small table. His hair is cropped short and his beard neatly trimmed. When he smiles, his teeth flash white. Eyes are green, no, hazel under the ceiling’s fluorescent …
The sudden quiet in their voices catches my ear. The group has been chattering for about an hour. My husband and I are sharing sushi with our son and his friends at a favorite Thai restaurant. The talk is mostly about food, weekend plans and the next retreat. Then, their voices drop. I hear, so …
Each January my husband and I visit our son in South Florida. Frequently he invites us to attend open AA meetings. It’s a glimpse into a world few who are not addicts or alcoholics get to see, or perhaps even want to see. For me AA meetings are intensely interesting. In South Florida they are …
Note: Today in Florida my son attends two funerals, both for young men. This post is for survivors. Recently, two mothers who each lost a son to overdose invited me to lunch – just to sit and talk. We sat overlooking a sunny harbor where boats breezed by. Their sons had died within weeks …