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Personal Stories

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

How I became the parent my son needed

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?

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.

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?

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.

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.