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    Hearts and Scars: 10 Human Stories of Addiction
    Hearts and Scars: 10 Human Stories of Addiction
    Hearts and Scars: 10 Human Stories of Addiction
    Ebook114 pages1 hour

    Hearts and Scars: 10 Human Stories of Addiction

    By Jake D. Parent

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    We lose more than 350 people every day in the United States to addiction. This collection of stories shows how the deadly disease is a conflicted struggle, not simply of broken people, but one that encompasses the human condition that affects us all.

    The book consists of two sections. The first is a series of short fictional stories that portray individuals suffering from active addiction. The second is made up of real life tales of recovery, written by the people who experienced the journey themselves.

    For those directly affected by this horrible affliction, these stories will help you make sense of your journey, both where you came from as well as where you are going.

    For advocates, policy makers, and others with the power to help, this collection will help humanize the issue. Because, while addiction may be a cunning, baffling disease, it is ultimately one that affects real people.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJake D. Parent
    Release dateOct 2, 2015
    Hearts and Scars: 10 Human Stories of Addiction
    Author

    Jake D. Parent

    Jake D. Parent is a writer and social justice advocate with nine years of sobriety from alcohol. He is the author of Only the Devil Tells the Truth, a novel about a young man growing up in poverty and dealing with addiction. He also writes poetry on a wide variety of subjects at www.jakedparent.com. He has used storytelling as a tool for advocacy on several humanitarian projects, most notably his work founding an orphanage and school in Kabul, Afghanistan with Omeid International. He grew up in San Jose, CA but now lives in the Washington, DC area.

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      Book preview

      Hearts and Scars - Jake D. Parent

      Hearts and Scars: 10 Human Stories of Addiction

      Copyright © 2015 by Jake D. Parent

      All rights reserved. This electronic book may be distributed anywhere around the globe provided it is presented in its entirety and for free. The entirety of the book may also be distributed in print form as long as all costs are covered by the distributing entity. Any person or organization wanting to receive direct payment to recuperate reproduction costs must first receive permission to do so from the publisher. Under no circumstances should this work be distributed for profit.

      First Printing, 2015

      Modern Minimalist Press

      www.jakedparent.com

      General inquiries: info@jakedparent.com

      Press: press@jakedparent.com

      Cover art and design by Phillip Du:

      phillipdu@gmail.com

      Edited by Jake D. Parent:

      jake@jakedparent.com

      This book contains works of fiction. In those sections, names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

      All non-fiction sections have been printed with the permission of the individual authors.

      Modern Minimalist Press takes no responsibility for inaccuracies of the non-fiction accounts made by contributing authors. The facts, people, places, and occurrences within those sections are solely the recollection of the authors and do not reflect any claim to veracity made by the publisher or the editor.

      Lastly, this entire work is presented for entertainment purposes only. You should consult a health professional if you need help coming up with a plan to treat any disease or condition.

      Table of Contents

      Dedication

      Foreword

      Addiction Fiction – By Jake D. Parent

      A Friend Too Late

      No Direction

      A Setting Sun

      Time for Work

      Waiting for the Day

      About the Author

      Recovery Stories

      The Sober Señorita – By Kelly Fitzgerald

      Sobriety My Way – By Chrystal Comley

      How Did it Come to This? – By Chris Aguirre

      Learning to Be Me – By Nicola O’Hanlon

      Enslavement to Heroin – By Dustin John

      Help Spread the Word

      Want to Tell Your Recovery Story Too?

      Resources

      For Timmy.

      In our hearts forever.

      Foreword

      In 2014, my 29-year-old cousin Tim overdosed on heroin and died while serving time in county jail on drug related charges. He left behind a baby daughter and all the potential in the world.

      When Tim was in high school he suffered a horrible injury in a hunting accident. It almost killed him. While rehabilitating from his injuries, he developed a crippling addiction to opiates, which eventually led to his tragic fate.

      He was a good person with a huge heart. In fact, I wish I had his kindness. I wish a lot of people had his kindness. Our world would be a better place.

      Sadly, his story is not unique. In fact, we lose more than 350 people every day in the United States to addiction. And that doesn’t include the countless others who die because of disease, suicide, homicide, etc. Nor does it include the millions of people who live in constant pain as they watch the people they love spiral out of control.

      The worst part is that all of it is completely preventable.

      My own road to recovery, which began in 2006, has taught me the following:

      1) Recovery is possible. It happens all the time.

      2) Getting there requires new ways of thinking.

      3) The best (and perhaps only) way to develop fresh ways of seeing the world is through the power of stories.

      The reason stories are so powerful is because they do not (at least the good ones) try to make their point through lecture or logic. Instead, they appeal to our emotions. And when we are able to open our emotional brain – even a little – we can then begin to challenge ourselves to do even those things we previously believed to be impossible.

      Life is not logical. It’s full of difficulty, hardship, and pain that doesn’t make any sense.

      But it is also full of amazing wonder and beauty.

      It is full of things worth living for.

      This collection of stories is an attempt to show addiction for the nuanced world that it is – a conflicted struggle that encompasses, not simply broken people, but the human condition that affects us all.

      The book consists of two sections. The first is a series of short fictional stories that portray individuals suffering from active addiction. The second is made up of real life tales of recovery, written by the people who experienced the journey themselves.

      This project is a beacon of hope, as well as a cry for help.

      Far too many of our cousins, moms, dads, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, neighbors, friends, coworkers, and significant others are dying out there. Every day. They need our help. They need us to fight for them – in our lives and in the policy arena.

      For those directly affected by this horrible affliction, it’s my hope these stories will help you make sense of your journey, both where you came from as well as where you are going.

      For advocates, policy makers, and others with the power to help, my hope is that this collection will help humanize the issue. I hope it will show that, while addiction may be a cunning, baffling disease, it is ultimately one that affects real people.

      Only by understanding the humanity within those who suffer from it – as buried as it may sometimes seem to be – can we as a society find the courage and will to finally do what needs to be done to end the suffering.

      Each of us involved in this project dreams of such a day.

      Jake D. Parent

      October, 2015

      Addiction Fiction

      By Jake D. Parent

      A Friend Too Late

      Glen’s favorite moment of the week was when he slid his timecard into the old machine that stamped it.

      As soon as he heard its familiar click-crunch, his shoulders and back relaxed.

      Today felt especially good. It was a three day weekend.

      Labor Day.

      At least, that’s what he thought. It was some holiday. Whichever one came at the end of summer. Really, it didn’t matter. For the next three days Glen was free to do anything he damned well pleased.

      And right now, all he wanted to do was drink.

      ***

      The guy at the liquor store was friendly, as usual.

      Hey Jesse, Glen said as he walked in through the door, hands clasped on top of his bloated belly.

      The guy behind the counter looked up and waved.

      Jesse was an Indian guy. A Sikh from the Punjab province, he had told Glen one slow weekday evening.

      He’d told Glen once about coming to the U.S. on a student visa. About how he couldn’t afford to stay in school and, instead, took a job at a gas station. For ten years he worked double shifts – seven days a week – and saved every penny he could.

      That’s how he bought the store.

      And things seemed to be going well.

      There were half a dozen people in line.

      Glen grabbed an 18 pack of Budweiser cans out of the big cooler before taking his place behind a lady holding a bottle of Gilberts Vodka. She swayed back and forth as she faced the cash register.

      Glen stared at the mounds of saggy flesh hidden under her dirty shirt.

      He imagined holding one in each hand.

      He hadn’t been with a woman in a long time.

      ***

      It was at least 85 degrees outside. The windows had been closed all day in Glen’s little studio apartment too. It was scorching when he walked in.

      Despite the heat, turning on the air conditioning was not the first thing Glen did when he walked through the door. Instead, he sat down on the edge of his ripped lazy boy. Straining to lean over his

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