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Overwhelmed
In May of this year, I was overwhelmed. I found out that my kid was in the ICU, hooked up to a ventilator because he was experiencing status epilepticus, a life-threatening condition that basically means having too many seizures in a row without any break in between to recover. This was a rapid escalation…
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I Would Rather Have Been Wrong
I spent weeks wondering whether I was imagining things. Wondering whether I’d become overly suspicious. Wondering whether I’d lost touch with reality. Then the truth arrived all at once. It’s a relief, in a way, to discover you weren’t wrong. But I would rather have been wrong.
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Where are the warning labels?
This isn’t really about labels. Labels are just the visible part. Product labels tell you the important things. The part that says, publicly and without apology: This product carries risk. For years, blinded by alcohol culture, I smoothed over information. Even as a cancer survivor, I smoothed over the cancer warnings. I’d see headlines…
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She Found Him Passed Out Behind the Beer Store
After my son was found passed out behind a beer store, I found myself thinking about a social media comment that blamed parents for alcohol use disorder. The reality is far more complicated. Genetics, ADHD, emotional pain, life experiences, alcohol itself, and countless other factors shape vulnerability to addiction. This is a reflection on…
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While It Was Still Hopeful
Just when I start to believe everything might be OK, I find evidence suggesting I should have waited a little longer. Living with a loved one’s AUD means learning to navigate the space between hope and fear, while imagining a future where alcohol is no longer woven into every social expectation.
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Did YOU know?
There’s usually a lot to unpack in a product label. Sometimes, such as when the product is a drug or supplement, there isn’t enough room on the label to list all the side effects and interactions so it spills over into a little pamphlet with tiny writing that you have to magnify to understand.…
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Holding the Line
The Roller Coaster I Never Chose One of the hardest things I have ever had to learn is that there is a difference between loving a person and participating in their crisis. For a long time, I didn’t know that difference. When someone you love has severe alcohol use disorder, every day can feel…
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Road Rash Hope
From Life Support to Gritty Hope Ok. I really had to think about writing this post. I had to think about thinking about writing this post. In the end – here I am, writing this post. I don’t like to think too much about hope. Not here. I can hope for nice weather for…
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We Can Do Better
When you live close to addiction, you start to notice the gaps. Not just in treatment or support—but in the way we talk about the substance itself. Or more often, the way we don’t.
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Alcohol is Expected, Accepted, and Underestimated
I thought I had Done the Work As far as I can tell, My Guy is holding his own.He’s communicating with me—and with some others that really surprised me. People he hasn’t reached out to in a long time. When he told me, I said he must be feeling pretty good to take that…