All posts by Losing Someone to Addiction

El Calafate Trees

April 5, 2025Events, Grief Journey#Argentina, #bereavement, #drugdeath, #griefandhealing, #griefisreal, #griefjourney, #grieving, #grievingmother, #losingachild, #losingalovedone, #loss, #opioidepidemic, #OverdoseAwareness, #penguin, and #lifeafterloss, griefLosing Someone to Addiction

Post #6

Fascinating trees…

El Calafate Flowers

April 4, 2025UncategorizedLosing Someone to Addiction

Post #5

Beautiful flowers…

El Calafate Buildings

April 3, 2025UncategorizedLosing Someone to Addiction

Post #4
El Calafate sports colorful buildings, including a painting of beautiful guanacos, which are believed to be the ancestors of llamas and alpacas.

Pure Joy

April 2, 2025Events, Grief Journey#bereavement, #drugdeath, #griefandhealing, #griefisreal, #griefjourney, #grieving, #grievingmother, #losingachild, #losingalovedone, #loss, #opioidepidemic, #OverdoseAwareness, #penguin, and #lifeafterloss, griefLosing Someone to Addiction

Post #3

We flew to Buenos Aires, then boarded for our next flight.

While getting on the airplane, I saw pure joy on Jason’s face. What a treat that was for me to see, after all he had been through—the end-stage cancer journey I endured from 2009-2011, with everyone certain I would die; the breakup of our family; and his older brother Tristan’s two years of addiction and then overdose death in 2015.

Jason had been through sooo much and now had come out on the other side.

My heart sang.

As we flew across Argentina, outside my window I saw strange marks on the ground—lines and circles. I thought, “Surely not Nasca lines in Argentina.” They turned out to be, I was later told, the result of mining.

Later we crossed over the beautiful turquoise Santa Cruz River, set against reddish clay soil. It was gorgeous.

We soon arrived in El Calafate in the Andes Mountains of Patagonia.

Pure Joy

April 2, 2025UncategorizedLosing Someone to Addiction

Post #3
We flew to Buenos Aires, then boarded for our next flight.
While getting on the airplane, I saw pure joy on Jason’s face. What a treat that was for me to see, after all he had been through—the end-stage cancer journey I endured from 2009-2011, with everyone certain I would die; the breakup of our family; and his older brother Tristan’s two years of addiction and then overdose death in 2015.
Jason had been through sooo much and now had come out on the other side.
My heart sang.
As we flew across Argentina, outside my window I saw strange marks on the ground—lines and circles. I thought, “Surely not Nasca lines in Argentina.” They turned out to be the result of mining.
Later we crossed over the beautiful turquoise Santa Cruz River, set against reddish clay soil. It was gorgeous.
We soon arrived in El Calafate in the Andes Mountains of Patagonia.

A Pocket for the Penguin

April 1, 2025Grief Journey#bereavement, #griefandhealing, #griefisreal, #griefjourney, #grieving, #loss, #OverdoseAwareness, #penguin, and #lifeafterloss, griefLosing Someone to Addiction

I needed a new waist pack for our trip, so about a week before leaving I headed to Roads Rivers and Trails in Cincinnati and selected the most suitable one for my needs. But it was odd, having pouches on each side of the main compartment with no closures. I asked the sales rep, “What are these for?”
She didn’t know.
A few days later came the inspiration, probably from Tristan, to take his little penguin on our trip since we were going so close to Antarctica. The open pouch turned out to be perfect for carrying the bird–it would give him a perch for a perfect bird’s-eye view of the whole trip.
Jason, and many people we encountered, loved it.

Dream Trip

March 31, 2025Grief Journey#bereavement, #griefandhealing, #griefisreal, #griefjourney, #griefsupport, #grieving, #healingfromgrief, #lifeafterloss, #loss, #OverdoseAwareness, griefLosing Someone to Addiction

I lost my 19-year-old son Tristan to a heroin overdose in June 2015. My younger son, whom I will call Jason, still managed to graduate from high school a year later.

College, however, was difficult for him. To inspire him to attain graduation, I told him his gift would be a trip. I asked Jason, “If you could travel anywhere in the world, what place would you want to visit?

He told me, “Patagonia.”

I thought, “How am I going to manage a trip to Patagonia? I have never been south of the equator, don’t speak Spanish, and am concerned about internet access. And Jason has never been out of the country.”

However, I later met a woman who had grown up in Argentina but lived in the United States. I told her about my son’s dream, and she said she was returning to Argentina and would be happy to be part of our journey.

It took several years, but Jason graduated—and began working a salaried job. I was thrilled!

So, in early March we boarded planes and finally arrived in El Calafate, Patagonia. At the last minute, on a whim, I decided to bring along Tristan’s small beanie penguin to symbolically represent him with us.

I will be posting photos of our journey with Tristan’s penguin. I hope they bring you a smile.

beanie penguin — We decide to take Tristan’s penguin with us.

2024 Editing Grant

January 14, 2024UncategorizedLosing Someone to Addiction

During 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and this winter I won Artists with Disabilities Access Grants from the Ohio Arts Council. I am using them for valuable editing assistance for 63 Coping Strategies for those grieving a loss to addiction. We are preparing for the publication of my book, When You Lose Someone to Addiction. This time Judy Levin will help me move my writing to the next level, making it even more open-hearted, warm, and readable.
I am grateful for the opportunity the OAC gives me to work with Judy Levin!

Love You

December 5, 2021Events#drug death, #grieving mother, #opioidepidemic, grief, grieving an addict, grieving mothers, losing a child, losing a loved one, losing an addictLosing Someone to Addiction

Your irreplaceable loved one is gone. You have a gaping hole in your life where love once lived. Now you are faced with the holiday season.

It can feel so terribly lonely.

Yet that love still lives, inside of you. You are that love. Please do not abandon yourself.

Just think. You are the magnificent result of two tiny cells you can’t even see. Those cells joined together in an incomprehensible union that multiplied and multiplied and multiplied. Imagine the tremendous amount of life-force energy expended to create … you.

Amazing you.

Incredible you.

A you who is utterly unique.

Look at your hands. What beautiful things they have done for you all your life. They serve you nearly every moment of the day, without question, without asking anything in return.

Look at your legs. They have carried you all through your life, without question, without asking anything in return.

And your heart. It pumps life-giving blood into every cell of your body, dozens of times every single minute. Without question. Without asking anything in return.

Look outside at the plants. They grow, they create leaves, they bless the world with blossoms. Without question. Without asking anything in return. They are worthy of appreciation just by being what they are.

How much more worthy of love, gratitude, and care are you? By yourself? Without anyone else in the picture?

So offer it to yourself.

Maybe spritz on a nice fragrance and focus on the aroma.

Maybe make yourself a special meal or order out for your favorite foods.

Maybe take a warm, comforting bath and add fresh blossoms so they float around you.

You are the center of your own universe. Love you. Appreciate you. Care for you. Your dear one is cheering you on, and so am I.

2021 Editing Grant

November 7, 2021UncategorizedLosing Someone to Addiction

During 2018, 2019, 2020, and this summer I won art grants from the Ohio Arts Council. I am using them for valuable editing assistance from Mary Langford for the narrative about my son’s life and 60+ Coping Strategies for those grieving a loss to addiction. We are preparing for the publication of my book, Grieving an Addict. Mary helps me move my writing to the next level, making it even more open-hearted, warm, and readable. During this grant cycle we are focusing on rhythm in my writing.

I am grateful for the opportunity the OAC gives me to work with Mary, who not only has natural talent, but who spent years at the right hand of the master storyteller Sidney Sheldon!