When a child dies, the grief a parent feels can consume them. When a child dies of a drug overdose or suicide related to drug addiction, many parents find that their anguish is coupled with a veil of shame that is difficult to conquer. In a new book of essays and emails written by parents while they interacted with each other on the grief Web site GriefNet, Susan Hubenthal and other GriefNet parents offer Between Two Pages: Children of Substance (now available through 1st Books). These stories detail their children?s struggles and highlight some of the most pressing drug issues of today.
These true stories send many messages and tell the story of these promising young people sucked into a world of drug addiction. They illustrate the enormous grief parents and families endure after the untimely and preventable death of a child. These parents break through the secrecy and shame to declare their sorrow openly, while striving to keep their child?s memory alive. The journey of pain after the death of a child is a long and arduous one that is never completely finished, and this book?s authors provide hope that the journey can be endured with support, hope and love.
By telling their children?s stories, these brave parents also tell the story of drugs in America. These young people were not ?junkies? and cannot be placed into the commonly held stereotype about addicts. They were lawyers, students or college graduates, and they all had bright futures and loving families. Many had been in treatment programs and had made an effort to stay away from drugs. The authors stress that society looks down at drug addiction and offers little to help. The book also shows that the ?War on Drugs? is a ?dismal failure,? though bureaucrats continue ?pouring millions of tax dollars? into it. ?The money would be better spent on effective drug treatment, research, drug education for both parents and students, after school and mentoring programs,? Hubenthal writes.
A poignant, heartbreaking compilation, Between Two Pages tells the stories of parents coping with the aftermath
of painful, relentless drug addiction deaths and offers messages of hope and warning.
Hubenthal, a native of Washington, logged onto grief Web sites after her son Kelly overdosed on heroin. She and other parents quickly connected on GriefNet. They came together to offer their stories in this book. It is a five-year
Project intended to spread awareness and keep their children?s names alive. In 2002, Hubenthal formed the Children of Substance Foundation to promote an end to the ?War on Drugs? and speak out about drug addiction. For more information on this program, visit www.childsub.org.
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