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Personal Stories

Get advice and perspective from families who have also been impacted by substance use or addiction.

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How I became the parent my son needed

I think of that “click” I made on Partnership to End Addiction’s website as a light switch I found while stumbling in the dark. It shed light on a new path for our family that I will be forever grateful for.

The “What Ifs” After My Son’s Overdose

On September 1, 2014, I drove my oldest son in an overloaded car to Worcester State University. I had never felt such pride in my 18 years of parenthood. I dreamt of this milestone. For months, I planned, shopped and looked toward an incredibly bright future.

Logan’s Love Story

Valentine’s Day is normally filled with roses and candy, happiness and memories of celebrating the ones we love. I had always been a mom to make a big deal of holidays and birthdays and just as I was staring at my son’s Valentine’s gift bag, our phone rang. At 8:37 pm, on February 14, 2021, our world changed forever.

Fentanyl contamination led to my son’s overdose

On a Thursday morning in October, Sandy Snodgrass was given the news that no parent should ever have to hear. Her son, Robert Bruce Snodgrass, was found dead. He had died from a fentanyl overdose.

The Grief of an Overdose Death — and How You Can Support Someone Grieving a Substance Use Loss

What happens when some deaths are considered more socially acceptable than others?

When It Comes to Your Child’s Addiction, Leave the Past in the Past

How do we help a loved one who is struggling with substance use?

“Secrets Will Help Nobody”: My Daughter’s Story of Addiction [VIDEO]

I sat down to tell Casey’s story and talk about what she and so many others go through, and how where there’s breath, there’s hope.

How I Knew My Daughter Was Using Substances and in a Mental Health Crisis

It was like a light switch — I asked myself, “Where did my daughter go?” I found out it was substance use and mental health issues at the same time.

The Empty Chair at Our Holiday Table

When you lose a child, your life changes forever. There will always be an emptiness, and a missing piece at the family gatherings.

Secrets for Surviving Thanksgiving with an Addicted Son

Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays or anything that was special to our family — our son who was using drugs found a way to bring heartache to the occasion. Here are my tips for dealing with it.

There Is Hope in Recovery from Addiction, and My Son Is Proof

I learned that addiction hijacks the brain's ability to make rational decisions — and that I didn't cause it, can't cure it and can't control it.

My Son Did Not Die in Vain: A Story of Addiction & Saving Lives

The detective said to me, “If we had a 911 Good Samaritan law or a Narcan law, your son might very well be alive.”

I Addressed My Own Drinking and It Was the Key to My Son’s Recovery

I am working on my own recovery, so I am properly able to support his.

I Support Other Parents With Their Children’s Addiction. Then My Own Son Needed Help.

How do you apply your own advice to yourself?

Grieving the Living

There is no other word but grief when your child is lost in the haze of drug addiction. But your child is still there. There are paths to hope.

My Daughter Died From an Overdose

“Tell them my story.” My 20-year-old daughter Casey said these words to me not long before she died of an accidental heroin overdose on January 15, 2017.

Does Relapse Mean Failure?

For this father, it took time to learn that relapse can be a natural part of addiction recovery.

I Thought Addiction Was My Son’s Problem. But Addiction Is a Family Disease.

When my son became addicted, I embarked on a journey to learn about preventing and treating this disease. I wish I knew then what I know now.

To Parents Struggling with a Child’s Addiction: 3 Things I Want You to Know

Find out what Arianna Huffington, founder and CEO of Thrive Global, has learned from her daughter Christina's substance use disorder – including the importance of reaching out for help.

Where There Is Life, There Is Hope

At face value, they sound so simple. Just seven words strung together. But in taking a moment to step back and find perspective, they become so much more.

This Father’s Day, I Invite Dads to Help Fight the Heroin Epidemic

All of us — men and women alike, who contend with family members, especially children, suffering from substance use disorder, are haunted by loss.

Yankee Fan Reflects on Loss & Ending the Silence on Addiction

These were men that drank and played hard during a time when there was less discrimination over a swing and a swig. Men whose substance use were denied or protected, sometimes even by the sportswriters who sat at the bar with them.

I Wish I Had Learned to Listen Sooner

What do I wish I had done differently?

Ron Grover: Setting Boundaries

Detach from the actions, crimes, drug use, and lying. Love and support the person inside, not the addiction controlling his life.

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