Addiction’s Strength

Photo by Vicky Sim on Unsplash

When most people think of addicts, they imagine a junkie perhaps shooting up in a disgusting alley. The truth is, most addicts are normal every day people who struggle daily trying to survive each moment.

My brother was born with fetal alcohol syndrome and was addicted to cocaine. Over the last thirty-nine years, I have watched him go through each and every addiction he picked up.

It started with pot and alcohol and then moved to pain medications. It didn’t stop there though. He dabbled in just about every drug there was, settling on heroin along with alcohol.

I sat through watching him being arrested, waiting to hear if he made it through several suicide attempts, and numerous trips to the hospital.

I comforted my family as it was being torn apart over the best way to deal with him and his situation.

I sat through interventions and phone calls while my mother sobbed her heart out.

Needless to say, I’ve seen how destructive an addiction can be over a person and their family.

Now, I’m going through it as an addict’s friend.

My friend is a recovered addict. She’s been sober for a couple of years. It hasn’t been easy for her. She struggled as her husband relapsed and lost his job. She was strong enough to pull through it even as it…