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Title details for The Only Life I Could Save by Katherine Ketcham - Available

The Only Life I Could Save

A Memoir

by Katherine Ketcham
Audra Cook
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available

For seven long years I struggled to take control, to reach in and pull Ben out of addiction’s clutches, believing that it was within my power to save him and alter the trajectory of his life. All those books I wrote about addiction led me to think I knew what to do . . . But the words were just words . . .
—Katherine Ketcham
Katherine Ketcham devoted four decades to researching and writing about addiction—but none of that prepared her for what she would face in her relationship with her own son. The Only Life I Could Save is a raw and moving memoir of heartbreak, healing, and profound transformation. “This book is not about Ben and his addiction journey, nor is it about the ‘demon’ that I lived with in my mind for all those years,” she writes. “This book is about the Big Know-It-All Who Realizes She Doesn’t Know a Damn Thing. Except this one daunting truth—the only life I can save is my own.”
In The Only Life I Could Save, Katherine Ketcham brings you hard-earned wisdom about the impact of addiction on families, the relationship between spirituality and recovery, and what she deems “the most important lessons of faith, hope, acceptance, and forgiveness.” For parents and siblings, educators and counselors—all of us who have been witness to the disease of addiction—here is a hope-giving book that places special emphasis on the healing side of the story: living in recovery with the support of a loving community.
Narrated by Audra Cook.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    April 3, 2018

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781683640974
      • File size: 258402 KB
      • Duration: 08:58:20

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Kirkus

      February 15, 2018
      A woman struggles to cope with her son's addictions.With three decades of teaching and multiple books on addiction under her belt, Ketcham (co-author: The Pain Antidote: The Proven Program to Help You Stop Suffering from Chronic Pain, Avoid Addiction to Painkillers--and Reclaim Your Life, 2015, etc.) was considered an expert on the subject, but she was totally unprepared when she discovered her son, Ben, was addicted to drugs and alcohol. In this honest account, the author shares her doubts, fears, anger, and angst as she and her husband strove to help Ben in any way that they could. She readily admits she missed the beginning telltale signs of his drug use, which started in high school. "Addiction isn't a choice," she writes, "it's not a moral failure, a maladaptive lifestyle habit, or a developmental learning disorder--it's a brain disease that is both chronic and progressive." Yet these knowledgeable words often brought little comfort as she attempted to help Ben, who fought against most of the help he was given, including expensive rehab treatments. Ketcham ponders whether she was too heavy-handed in her counseling and suggestions when Ben's abuse became obvious, and she even questions her effectiveness as a mother. She chronicles her discussions of her work with kids in juvenile detention, and she uses excerpts from some of her earlier books to help clarify some of the ideas she explores. She also examines concepts of spirituality, forgiveness, and change as she relates the many years it took before Ben decided to get clean. The author's hard-won wisdom and often unanswerable questions help readers see the far-reaching effects of alcohol and drug abuse, and the inclusion of comments from Ben demonstrates the pain and anguish felt on all sides of the situation.An expressive account of one family's struggles to help a child with serious addiction issues.

      COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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