For a long time I thought I had the “right” response whenever I learned that someone who loves a person with addiction was suffering. Apparently, I’ve been doing it all wrong. Until recently, if someone told me about a friend or relative whose child was actively drinking or using, I would say, “Sure. Have them …
You need to see it to believe it. In the Washington DC area – every Sunday evening – there’s an open AA meeting that’s been going on for decades. That’s not unusual. What is is the group’s size. On a recent Sunday my son invited me to attend with him. Located this night in a …
On a late August morning just before sunrise only a few people dot the beach. The sand belongs to the seabirds, a fisherman and yesterday’s footprints. Except for the pounding of waves, there’s no sound. In the still, quiet snapshot of that half-light before dawn, I surrender to the sweet sadness of summer’s end. I …
The word connotes pleasure, relaxation, summertime ease. It’s time away with family, friends, a spouse, a pet. In my family, vacation means Rehoboth. The Delaware-beach resort, known for its family-friendly atmosphere, deep blue beach umbrellas, boardwalk fries and bumper cars, offers us all that a beach vacation can. But for years the word “vacation” spurred …
A question I often am asked is, when did you start trusting your son, again? As often as this comes up, it always stops me cold. The corollary is rarely asked: how long did it take to lose that trust? Al-Anon literature says that “trust” is a choice. Suffering from the wreckage of addiction in …
Prague, Capital of the Czech Republic. Certainly not a city you would associate with addiction, or any other disease. But there we were in early July, attending an AA meeting with our son. The city was a brief stopover at the end of a river cruise celebrating a family anniversary. Without fanfare, Jacob announced he’d …
At a recent book talk a woman raised her hand and asked, “Do you ever get over the fear?” Her adult son, two and half years clean, was living several states away. They spoke often by phone and she had the sense he was doing well. But she couldn’t stop worrying. “I worry that he …
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 …