It happens frequently. I’m on the treadmill at the gym, and a woman appears at my side. She introduces herself and tells me she just finished “Secret No More.” Tears fill her eyes. She thanks me, and says I am so brave. Later, I wonder, why “brave?” I walk through the Naval Academy, a common …
When we visit Jacob in Florida we often attend AA meetings with him. These are typically “open” – meaning anyone can attend – and normally held in a church. They remind me, again, how grateful I am to churches, synagogues, local governments and hospitals for opening their doors to people in recovery, usually without charging. …
This month marks the first anniversary of a program that’s saving hundreds of lives in a Maryland county ravaged by addiction. Last April, County Executive Steve Schuh, flanked by police and fire chiefs, the health officer, state’s attorney and a woman named Jen Corbin – head of the county’s crisis response system – announced that …
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 …
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.” …
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 …
Author Lisa Hillman discussed her book “Secret No More: A True Story of Hope for Parents with an Addicted Child” in three separate programs for rabbis, high school students and general audiences that took place recently in Boca Raton. Hillman and her son Jacob, a former substance abuse addict, each shared their personal stories of coping …
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 …