PAL Blog

Read stories and insights from parents and experts in addiction recovery. Everyone has a story, and by sharing, we can empower each other, and find paths forward – together.

A Parent’s Story

Articles by Parents Like You
Finding the support I need

Finding the support I need

        I am the mother of two grown children, a girl, and a boy. I have one grandson and two granddaughters. My husband and I have been married for 40 years. My children were involved in several sports and activities, and we were very involved in...

Not our family

Not our family

​         My husband and I have a son and a daughter. Their childhood was wonderful for all of us, as we spent weekends in the summers at the lakes and winters at the sand dunes. Our children were the ones whose others’ parents always said, “Man,...

Understanding their perspective

Understanding their perspective

​         We are a blended family – my children became the children of my spouse as I had both children and grandchildren prior to our marriage. My son was such a beautiful child. He was always happy and inquisitive.  He was very interested in...

The View from Recovery

Articles by People in Recovery
Vignettes – Part 3

Vignettes – Part 3

​​​​   2013  Bruised, broken, emaciated, exhausted, and sick. I’m using meth and heroin in a hotel room in Glendale. I’ve been up for three days; when I look at the carpeted floors, they vividly appear to be alive with crawling bugs. I close my eyes and try to...

Vignettes – Part 2

Vignettes – Part 2

​​​​ Summer. 2011. It’s 110 degrees outside. The sun bakes the concrete courtyard where I sit, the radiation of unbearable warmth rising. I smoke cigarettes with my back leaned up against the wall as I sit on the ground in a spot of shade near the stairway. I don’t...

Being present in the moment

Being present in the moment

​​​​ I’m present. I’m home sick and have been up all night with a 7-month-old baby but I’m present. Some vitamin B and coffee combined with the exhaustion are creating an odd hyper awareness in me but it’s ok and I’m here for it.  I sit with my son out back on the...

From Counselors

Articles by PAL and Partner Counselors
Hopelessness — A Common Condition for Parents

Hopelessness — A Common Condition for Parents

            For an addicted loved one’s parents, the shock of the situation and then the often-frustrating continued drug or alcohol use (“Why won’t he or she stop using these drugs?” “How can he or she not know what the risk is?”) can...

Responsibility: Put Down the Microscope and Pick Up the Mirror

Responsibility: Put Down the Microscope and Pick Up the Mirror

          When I started PAL back in 2006, my motivation was to help parents.  I was working in a treatment center, and I was seeing a trend of more and more young people coming into treatment and honestly their parents were a mess. That...

Mike Speakman, the co-author of my journey

Mike Speakman, the co-author of my journey

​​​​     2011 I’m sitting on the front patio of Calvary. It’s 7 a.m. My soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend dropped me off unceremoniously. There’s a bubbling fountain in the middle of the area; birds land on the top, shaking their feathers free from moisture as they...

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