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 …
In July I let my gym membership lapse. My husband and I would be traveling most of the month so it seemed a waste to pay dues. Instead, on a sultry Saturday morning, I chose to walk through the grounds of the United States Naval Academy. We live three blocks away and “the Yard” – …
When addiction first crept into our household 11 years ago, I started keeping a journal. Retreating to clean white paper became my refuge. The blank pages stared back, non-judgmental and welcoming. On their unvarnished surface I poured out my anguish, fear, confusion and shame. It was the only place – until many years later – …
It often begins like this. I’m at a book talk. A woman seated in a back row slowly raises her hand. “I’m just curious. What does your son think of the book?” It’s a question I’ve come to expect. And since honesty is at the core of recovery, for both the addict and the family, I …
A successful professional, a mayor’s wife and mother of two, Lisa Hillman seemed it have it all figured out. The pain of knowing her teenage son was in the thick of a battle with drug addiction, though, was too much to bare. In her book “Secret No More” Hillman details how her life as an …