William R. Jack

A Life in Darkness: the Drug Addicted Child William R. Jack

This book focuses on the devastating impact of drugs on our children, seen through the lense of one father's experiences. It describes the futile and rapid descent of a child into the street environment after repeated cycles of recovery and drug use. There is nothing more devastating to a parent and their family than to watch one of their children or family members fall prey to this illness, and then because of the grip that this disease has on the child, watch the rapid deterioration and eventual mental illness that removes the child from the reach of promise and hope and pushes them into the gates of living hell which awaits all addicts who do not by some miraculous event find a daily reprieve from this disease. The book makes the case that for any real addict that there is no such thing as a permanent cure. The best that can be hoped for according to the author is a daily reprieve from the use of drugs based on a recovery program such as Narcotics Anonymous. If such a daily reprieve is not found by the addict the book makes the assertion that the only outcome of drug addiction is insanity or death. The book also is a story of the death of a child, and provides the author's experiences, reactions and observations on recovery from what is a nightmare of an experience for any parent. Further, it makes the case that closure from the death of a child should be reached through the hard work of grieving in a healthy way, feeling the pain, reaching out to seek out the help that one needs to obtain closure. The book also encourages all parents who have experienced the death of a child to accept the fact that there is no one single way to grieve. That anything is allowed, and that there are no time limits to the grieving process. And finally the book conveys the idea that time heals, and that there is hope for happiness and even joy once again.