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Loading... If You Love Me: A Mother's Journey Through Her Daughter's Opioid Addictionby Maureen Cavanagh
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. This book got to me, and in a big way. I don't think one can be a parent, or any kind of caring person and not feel a deep connection, sympathy with this woman as she travels the emotional roads of her daughters heroin addiction. Not that this is written in a over dramatic fashion, but her love and pain can be felt on every page. I have raised seven children, and we have dealt with many issues, but I feel so fortunate that none have been drug related, legal or otherwise. Not that we haven't been touched by tragedy, friends of one or another of my children, committing suicide or overdosing. It is all around us now. Last month I read American Overdose, have watched many television shows on the subject, but this one brought what has become a National epidemic, into sharp focus. Maureen travels an emotional path she never thought she'd have to take. Feeling guilty, wondering what she could have done differently, noticed sooner, to love, sorrow and frustration as she tries to find the help Katie needs. She is a remarkable woman, fighting hard for her daughter, always telling her she loves her, before she has a startling insight. The addict needs to want to help herself. Over the course of three years she finds some remarkable people, learns to navigate her way around various detox facilities. Finds Facebook groups, starts her own group with a few other remarkable woman, all resources she shares within these pages. Fights the stigma that addictions, like mental illness are still seen by so many as a weakened character, not a disease. A heArtbreaking read, but informative and written with the hope that sharing her story will help others. no reviews | add a review
Maureen Cavanagh's gripping memoir If You Love Me is the story of a mother who suddenly finds herself on the frontlines of the opioid epidemic as her daughter battles--and ultimately reckons with--substance use disorder. Fast-paced and heartwarming, devastating and redemptive, Maureen's incredible odyssey into the opioid crisis--first as a parent, then as an advocate--is ultimately a deeply moving mother-daughter story. When Maureen and her ex-husband Mike see their daughter Katie's needle track marks for the first time, it is a complete shock. But, slowly, the drug use explains everything--Katie's constant exhaustion, erratic moods, and all those spoons that have gone missing from the house. Once Mike and Maureen get Katie into detox, Maureen goes to sleep that night hoping that in 48 hours she'll have her daughter back. It's not that simple. Like the millions of parents and relatives all over the country--some of whom she has helped through her nonprofit organization--Maureen learns that recovery is neither straightforward nor brief. She fights to save Katie's life, breaking down doors on the seedy side of town with Mike, kidnapping Katie outside a convenience store, and battling the taboo around substance use disorder in her picturesque New England town. Maureen is launched into the shadowy world of overcrowded, for-profit rehabilitation centers that often prey on worried parents. As Katie runs away from one program after another, never outrunning her pain, Maureen realizes that even while she becomes an expert on getting countless men and women into detox and treatment centers, she remains powerless to save her own daughter. Maureen's unforgettable story brings the opioid crisis out of the shadows and into the house next door. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)362.29092Social sciences Social problems and services; associations Social problems of & services to groups of people Mentally ill Substance abuse Biography; History By Place BiographyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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by Maureen Cavanagh. First off, I would like to thank Netgalley for my arc of this book. Also, I want to thank the author and her daughter for being brave enough to share their story. This was an honor to read. While my review is super late it doesn’t speak to how amazing this book actually is. I went through lots this year emotionally with the loss of my grandma and while I was still reading, I found it hard to sit down and review and still be objective. This book gets you from page one and doesn’t let you go until long after you are done. Maureen does a beautiful job detailing the emotional journey for her family while dealing with this addiction. I want anyone who reads this book to get something out of it, you will feel every emotion on every page and after your done you will want to find ways to want to help others in this situation. For me personally it showed me that I am in the wrong profession and should be working in a field to help others. All and all 5 painful stars well done. ( )