“When he would chase me around the apartment with a shotgun, I thought it was normal. When he confronted me about scabs and boils all over his body, I thought he needed to go to a clinic – maybe he had an STD?”
‘I’m done helping you, brother. You had kids, and we all thought that would change you. I had no idea. It won’t be me. It won’t be me who funds your final hit.’
‘Miranda had not answered her phone or texts in 24 hours. Her door was unlocked, her TV was blaring and I felt this horrible spirit in her apartment.’
“She died alone is what we are supposed to think. She did this to herself. We are not to blame. After 3 months we finally have a reason for her death.”
‘We heard this loud, echoing bang above us in the bathroom. Thirty seconds later, this scream came from upstairs. I can still hear it to this day. There she was, on the bathroom floor.’
“My best friend entered before me. She begged me not to come in. I did anyways – I had to see for myself. All of her shoes were neatly lined up next to the foot of the bed. Her clothes were hung up, and her beauty products were organized.”
‘I was 17-years-old when I had my first daughter. 20-years-old when I had my second. Everyone tried to get me to leave him. I was ‘in hiding’ at my parent’s house, living in constant fear.’
“When she was a week old, he showed up on my doorstep and never left. Todd and I were married just 11 months later. It was the hardest thing to comprehend. There were so many changes.”
‘Where was I? Frantically driving around the streets of Detroit, trying to find you, with tears streaming down my face, fear in my stomach, yet determination in my heart.’
“I see the comment so often when it comes to addiction. ‘Where were the parents?’ That REALLY infuriates me. We feel judged, unsure of what to say.”
