Devastating Drug Addiction

Shortly after writing the article "My Addicted Son" for The New York Times Magazine, David received an e-mail from Kathleen, whose meth-addicted daughter, Maria, was begging to be bailed out of jail. David says he responded to Kathleen's e-mail with a personal story about his experience at Al-Anon, an organization for friends and family members of addicts. "I walked into an Al-Anon meeting one time, and I saw actually two parents, and they were weeping, and they said, 'My child is in jail, thank God.'" David says he was puzzled by their positive reaction until they explained that knowing their child was in jail meant he or she was no longer living on the streets.

David suggested that Kathleen get support so she would know she's not alone. "It helped tremendously," Kathleen says.