True Stories

I had my first real drink when I was 15. I was in a boarding school near an affluent suburb in Pretoria, South Africa when my friends and I jumped the fence on Wednesday night and snuck to a bar [...]

I was a bonafide party girl for more than 10 years, personifying the stereotypes with slurred words and a boozy smile. I danced on bars, pursed my lips to make a duck face for pictures and loudly [...]

My parents couldn’t have been more different. My mom was emotionally present and very involved. She never made me feel like a burden. She never drank too much. She was the glue that kept our [...]

How I Lost my Mom to Addiction—and Found the Road to Recovery Some of my earliest memories are of my mom hanging out with her friends, drinking wine and getting tipsy. When I was little, it [...]

  On September 1, 2020, my co-authors and I released The Addiction Diaries —a collection of 18 stories intended to humanize addiction, end the stigma, and offer hope to those who are [...]

Today is International Overdose Awareness Day, and even though I have lost many people to opioid overdoses, including my dear cousin, Joey, on this particular day, I would like to remember Lance [...]

Chelsea kneels in the grass with her hands buried in the rich soft soil as she positions a fern into its new hole. She fills the extra space with dirt and gently packs it down before rubbing her [...]