As many of you know, my latest book “Parenting in the Dark, Letting Go of Shame while holding on to Hope,” was released in April 2023. It is my second published book, and I am very proud of the endeavor. It is hands down my most vulnerable writing to date, and the response and reaction to the book have been interesting, to say the least!
I always listen intently to what folks say to me about the book after they have read it. Some folks told me they had to put the book down because it was “triggering” to their own current situation. Others said they read it a few times and said it would help many people. Some folks cried and shared how sorry they were to read the state of my mind and heart and how brave I was to write and recollect it. Someone even asked me how hard it was to reflect on the pain? I responded that I needed to communicate it as I was experiencing it so they could understand the realness of my heart and mind when they read the book.
If not, the book would be fiction.
Someone said it was “too soon.” I sat with that comment for a while. I let it marinate in my soul. Was it too soon? Would the tenor of the book have been written differently had I waited? Was a two-year window, not enough time? I decided that it was not too soon. It was exactly as I intended it to be, and my motive was to help other parents understand that we do the best we know how and that, ultimately, our “adult” children will determine if that was good enough. That we cannot fight our children, we must fight against their addiction. Most of what they decide to do is not our fault if we know we did our best. I understand that sometimes my truth may be too much for others to accept, and that’s okay.
Experiences and time cannot be measured by others’ expectations.
We do not have to defend what is our truth. Reality, and truth work in tandem. I chose a vulnerable moment in my life, an explosive moment in my life, hoping that someone would read it and walk away with hope of their own and be free.
That is my intention, and that will always be my motive.