They are fresh-faced and cleanly dressed. All nine of them. Young men in their 20s and 30s, they are gathering at my son’s home for a meeting. Each extends an arm. My eyes lock on theirs as we clasp hands. They are clear-eyed, unafraid, entirely cordial. These men will spend the next hour in what …
A friend whose adolescent son struggles with anxiety, depression – and addiction – recently said to me, “I want more joy in my life.” For an instant I just stared at her. Who doesn’t? I wanted to shoot back. Instead, I picked up her words, like a light sweater on a cool day, and slung …
Occasionally, I am invited to attend an “open” AA meeting. Typically, it is to celebrate a milestone in recovery. Rare is the invitation to celebrate a child’s recovery. (Note: this is shared with permission of the storytellers) The room is filled with men and women who greet each other warmly. This is an established group. …
He was coming home from rehab, just in time for the holidays. His mother was anxious. How would he “fit in” with the rest of the family? Could she trust him – even for a few days – to stay sober for the celebrations? She kept calling him her adolescent. The “boy” was 28, but …
Recently, a family friend – not a man I see often, but someone I’ve known and respected for his intelligence and wisdom – posted THIS on my blog: Your story makes me feel so blessed that I have never been cursed with a child’s addiction. After my initial shock, I carried his words around for …
She was stuck, and she wasn’t alone. Seated in kindergarten chairs in the church basement, Al-Anon attendees listened patiently. Many knew her story well. Many were living it. A husband was drinking again. Again was the operative word. The woman had lived with his alcoholism for decades. She’d endured periods of his heavy drinking, followed …
The tall, dark blond-haired young man stepped into my path. I was rounding a cobblestone corner in an ancient Italian village in Umbria, winding my way up to the Duomo (don’t all Italian streets lead to a Duomo?). . It was a warm, sunny Sunday afternoon in late summer, the town teeming with tourists. I …
If any animal could cure addiction, it would be – the dog. I’m sure of it. Dogs came into our family late. It wasn’t until Jacob was eleven, his sister grown and married, that we adopted our first greyhound. Greyhounds #two, three, four and now five have followed. We love the breed. We love almost …
I rarely get angry. Is that abnormal? It must be. Because when friends find out they look at me strangely. Living with someone who is actively using drugs or abusing alcohol, it is easy to get angry. Probably even normal. Like the time that Jacob’s high school counselor called me, “Are you aware your son …
A father recently asked, how do you handle the guilt when you don’t want your loved one to come home after rehab? When you fear she is not ready? His question sent me spiraling back years ago, a moment when Jacob was “between” rehabs. We had dropped him off at a rehab center in Maryland …