A Confession and a Pretty Good Strategy
March 19, 2022
I HAVE A CONFESSION
Often when I read some of the many books of stories of families and people that navigate well overcoming addiction I am flooded with a variety of emotions. Of course, I am glad to see that there is hope for recovery. I am also very happy for the individual and of course those around them that love them. A few I can think of are “Beautiful Boy” , “Hopeful Healing: Essays on Managing Recovery and Surviving Addiction” , and “Terry:: My Daughter’s Life-and-Death Struggle with Alcoholism”. There are many others.
If you know anything about the books I mention above you realize the only one I can truly connect to is “Terry”. The other two while causing me to be encouraged for families and individuals fighting addiction that there is hope remind me of what did not happen. Our story like the McGovern story did not end in this life as we had hoped. This always leads me to confront questions that haunt me. WHY, is a big one, the post “Don’t You Want to Know Why?” explains. Another common one is HOW, “A Hard Question that Keeps Coming Up” talks more about .
COULDN’T THIS HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT
Books like the first two I mention make me wonder: “What if the outcome would have been different.” A part of me is saddened because I can’t really answer that. Another part would just never want my daughter to face the excruciating pain she battled every day. A great help to Laurens brother, mom and myself is the peace we have because of what is explained in “Why We Know Lauren Is Safe | We Chose Love”.
EVERYTHING HINGES ON REALATIONSHIP
In the future, I plan to review some of the books I often receive. I got one just the other day that caught my attention because of the chapter headings. For each one, I included a link to a WCL post that speaks to it. The chapter titles form a strong strategy to help your loved one move toward long-term recovery. I believe that the biggest impact we can possibly have to help our loved ones overcome addiction is to take the lead on building a better relationship with them. The book I mention seems to understand that.
A STRATEGY TO WIN THE WAR
- Respond to the early warning signs; don’t panic!
“Listen to Your Kids as Early as You Can”
- Resist the urge to turn words into weapons.
- Make the tough calls when you must.
“Some Decisions Are Really Hard”
- Stoke the relationship fire to keep love alive.
- Reconnect through gifts from the heart.
- Laugh between the tears.
- Choose your battles wisely . . . and lose some on purpose.
- Cling to hope when you’re at the bottom.
- Soften the reentry as much as possible.
“A Step Forward is a Step Forward”
IT MAY HAVE HELPED
I wish I had the above list the Sunday morning we found out Lauren was addicted to heroin. It may have helped! If you can not wait for my review of the book these chapter headings are from it is called “Daughters Gone Wild Dads Gone Crazy” , review to follow.
Todays featured image is called “Beginning” by Brooke Shaden. My prayer is that this day will be a new beginning in wellness for you or someone you love battling addiction.
Recent Comments