Parents to PhDs: 28 Interviews With People Who Share Heartache, Wisdom and Healing

Parents are usually looking for resources when their child is using drugs or alcohol.

Information can help parents make more informed decisions.

Parents to PhDs

I’m happy to share my e-book, Parents to Parents to PhDs: 28 Interviews With People Who Share Heartache, Wisdom, and Healing From First-Hand Experience With Substance Use Disorder.

The purpose of the e-book is to provide information from those who have experienced or studied addiction.

Though the years of writing online, I had the distinct honor of interviewing a number of people from different walks of life. They have had the courage to share their experiences in order to help others. People feel less alone when they are able to connect with those who have been in the same situation.

The interviews share a variety of opinions and experiences about substance use that I hope lead you to a better place.

To just name a few, David Sheff and Christopher Kennedy Lawford share their wealth of knowledge from their research and personal experiences.

Dr. Herby Bell uses the wisdom from his personal and family experiences to spread awareness and help others.

Dr. Jeff Foote shares the life-changing tools and strategies of CRAFT for parents and family members that he has found to be so helpful. Greg Williams contributes his story of recovery and his amazing video, The Anonymous People. Mark Matthews, marathon runner, gifted writer, and addiction counselor shares tips that changed his life.

G-Na Casazza tells her family’s story about the impact of one person’s decision to drink and drive. Tommy Rosen shares how he embraced recovery to become a well-known yoga teacher and creator of Recovery 2.0.

There are many more interviews than I can list here. I believe this e-book will give you hope, share recovery strategies, and remind you that you are not alone on your journey. There are many who are paving the way for all of us to have a better tomorrow.

These 28 people are spreading awareness and helping other families who are concerned about their child’s substance use.

Here are 28 quotes from Parents to Parents to PhDs:

1) “I think parents should start by addressing their kids’ learning issues if they suspect there is a problem. The earlier the better.” ~ David Heckinlively

2) “The brain is not fully developed until one’s early 20s, often not until age 25, with critical periods of neural network wiring and brain development occurring from ages 1 — 3, 4-10, and 12 — 25.” ~ Lisa Frederiksen

3) “Substance abuse is a primary problem. That means you can’t really fix anything else until you fix it.” ~ Rand Teed

4) “Being the mother of an addicted child is a painful journey that covers a wide range of emotions.” ~ Barbara Theodosiou

5) “It is important that we tell the addict that we love them and will support their good choices, but it is also important that we help them in healthy ways and not get in the way of their own responsibilities and recovery.” ~ Denise Krochta

6) “When women sit in a circle a sacred space is created to work and create together, listen, learn and share with one another–to get support from one other.” ~ Shelly Richanbach

7)  “Talk with your child and communicate honestly about drug use, friends, and where he or she spends his free time.” ~ Libby Cataldi

8) “If your gut is telling you something isn’t right with your kids, figure out a way to address the issue.” ~ Beth Wilson

9) “We soon realized that most parents and teens have no idea how prevalent teen substance abuse is, or how easily teens can become addicted.” ~ Susan King

10) “Addiction chooses poisons over purity, perversions over passion, peril over protection, pipe dreams over purpose, paranoia over peace, and pity over prayer.” ~ Mary Cook

11) “I wanted others to know that addiction can happen to the brightest and best of kids and in the best of families.” ~ Sheryl McGinnis

12) “Addiction changes you in so many ways: physically, spiritually, emotionally, and it takes a long, long time to get yourself to a sane place.” ~ Mark Matthews

13) “When you realize that your child has gone past the point of experimental substance use and into a serious problem with drugs and alcohol it is difficult to know what to do.” ~ Kim Box

14) “After hearing my story they would realize that drug use in the workplace is common and that users are quite skilled at hiding their drug use.” ~ Becky Vance

15) “Mothers, parents and families are taking a leading position to end the violence, mass incarceration and overdose deaths that are a result of current punitive and discriminatory drug policies.” ~ Gretchen Bergman

16) “Why take that risk? It’s different when you put your own life in danger, but to put everyone else’s life on the road in danger too is so wrong and affects a myriad of people.” ~ G-Na Casazza

17) “When an individual denies his healing process or turns away from his recovering path, there are consequences.” ~ Holli Kenley

18) “The other thing is that you set very clear boundaries and you don’t pretend that this is something that they are going to get through.” ~ Christopher Kennedy Lawford

19) “The idea is that all of us, in all walks of life are experiencing this renaissance, moving back into a wellness-oriented life, a sustainable life.” ~ Dr. Herby Bell

20) “I try to let parents know that it is OK to let their children fail.” ~ Jeff Wolfsberg

21) “I always encourage anyone to try and find a very good program or counselor who works with teenagers when the drug problem has progressed to dependence.” ~ Dr. Ken Winters

22) “I want to remove the stigma that this only happens to poor people or to parents who did not raise their children correctly.” ~ Natalie Costa

23) “The idea that you can go through something that can destroy you or does destroy you, and have some meaningful impact is wonderful.” ~ David Sheff

24) “My story conveys the importance of sobriety and going out there and achieving your goals.” ~ Kris Kancler, aka, Super Star

25) “In order to find true peace, true contentment, my claim to fame needed to be more than I’ve survived addiction.” ~ Tommy Rosen

26) “One of the things I’ve learned is that if you can connect with the kid’s concerns for others whether they are users or nonusers, you can really do a tremendous amount of educating.” ~ Chris Kelley

27) “Confusion around what anonymity means and doesn’t mean prevents a great many people who would like to talk about their recovery status publicly from doing so.” ~ Greg Williams

28) “At the same time, we know there are many specific things that DO help in this very complicated and often very scary process, and it is important to me to get the word out… to give families who are trying so hard some needed and reality-based hope.” ~ Dr. Jeff Foote