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 …
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 …
With LifeLines: A Bridge to Recovery, WRNR is putting the spotlight on the opioid epidemic that is plaguing our community. In this inaugural episode, host Rob Timm is joined in studio by Barry Meisenberg MD of Anne Arundel Medical Center; Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Wes Adams; Angel Traynor, Executive Director of Serenity Sistas Recovery …
On the morning of Yom Kippur our rabbi says a prayer for children. He asks parents to stand with their sons and daughters, regardless of age. Parents place their hands on their child and repeat the threefold ancient blessing. May God bless and protect you; May God cause His face to shine upon you and …
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. …
Addiction and overdose are among the most serious social and health issues facing our country today. Attorney General Jeff Sessions called drug overdose deaths “the top lethal issue” in the U.S. with preliminary data showing nearly 60,000 overdose deaths in 2016. With overdose deaths rising, and friends and loved ones battling addiction, it’s not uncommon …
Write a book about a topic, and instantly you’re an expert. Or people think you are. I often am asked questions that are better directed to those far more knowledgeable. What is your opinion about legalizing marijuana? How about programs that give addicts medication? What about needle exchanges? My answer is, typically, I am neither …