A mother from Texas writes “our family is still struggling a lot. It seems like the wall that our son is putting around him is getting taller every day. It’s heartbreaking to watch him alienate us when he needs our help the most.” She longs for a “roadmap” to help her family decide when to …
The Ruth & Norman Rales Jewish Family Services is arranging a daylong visit for Lisa to address three groups in south Palm Beach County, Florida: (1) a luncheon with area rabbis, (2) an afternoon with students from local Jewish day schools, and (3) an evening session open to the larger community. Lisa’s son, Jacob, will …
If you don’t know one yet, you will These are the mothers whose sons’ and daughters’ obituaries you read in the local newspaper. Joe could light up a room just by his smile. He loved hiking and fishing. He leaves behind his parents, grandparents, girlfriend Jill and his loving dog Bo. There will be a …
“Naloxone isn’t the antidote for heroin. Community is.” Recently, Sam Quinones, journalist and author of “Dreamland,” addressed the Maryland Patient Safety Center conference regarding the opioid scourge in America. His talk was so profound that it’s worth sharing a few highlights. (Note: all quotes are his.) A 1979 brief letter to the Journal of American …
Recently, a mom from Florida emailed about her adult son. Not only is he actively using, but his addiction is further complicated with several mental health diagnoses. This mom writes: I have attended three Nar-Anon meetings but have been unable to embrace the 12 step program. These meetings have left me feeling more hopeless than …
At 7:40 the room begins to fill. By 10 of eight thick sets of keys and worn paperbacks save empty seats. By 8 p.m. it’s standing room only. My husband and I are attending an open meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous in southern Miami. We’re in the large, dimly-lit social hall of a Lutheran church not …
Lisa has been invited to keynote this seminar designed for parents of school-aged children from late elementary through high school. Part of the Anne Arundel County Executive’s “Not MY Child” series, the evening is co-sponsored by Anne Arundel Medical Center’s Women and Children’s Health services, Behavioral Health services and the AAMC Foundation. The event is …
Is a parent ever prepared to hear bad news about his or her child? When that first phone call came from Jacob’s teacher at the beginning of high school’s senior year, some sickly fear chilled our home, even on a warm late-August night. I wondered if he had the wrong child. I hoped he did. …