Relapse is very dangerous. However, relapse can be a symptom of the disease. Sometimes there are multiple relapses before you get sober and stay sober.
David SheffRead
Along with the joy of parenthood, with every child comes a piercing vulnerability. It is at once sublime and terrifying
Interpretation
What this quote means
Parenthood brings immense joy, but it also exposes parents to deep vulnerability.
David Sheff's quote encapsulates the dual nature of being a parent—while the joy and love of raising a child is profound and beautiful, it also introduces a deep sense of vulnerability and fear that comes from caring so deeply for another human being. This paradox highlights the complexities of parenthood, illuminating how immense love can also bring about intense worry and concern for a child's well-being.
Themes
ParenthoodVulnerabilityLoveJoyFear
In practice
Example use cases
In a parenting workshop, to discuss the emotional complexities of raising children.
More from David Sheff
All quotes →If you subscribe to the idea that # addiction is a disease, it is startling to see how many of these children - paranoid, anxious, bruised, tremulous, withered, in some cases psychotic - are seriously ill, slowly dying. We'd never allow such a scene if these kids had any other disease. They would be in a hospital, not on the streets.
David SheffRead
If you love someone who's an addict and their use is life-threatening, you don't wait until they hit bottom because that can mean that they're going to die. You have to do everything you can to get them in treatment.
David SheffRead
This stigma associated with drug use--the belief that bad kids use, good kids don't, and those with full-blown addiction are weak, dissolute, and pathetic--has contributed to the escalation of use and has hampered treatment more than any single other factor.
David SheffRead
Anyone who has lived through it, or those who are now living through it, knows that caring about an addict is as complex and fraught and debilitating as addiction itself.
David SheffRead
Through Nic's drug addiction, I have learned that parents can bear almost anything....I shock myself with my ability to rationalize and tolerate things once unthinkable. The rationalizations escalate....It's only marijuana. He gets high only on weekends. At least he's not using hard drugs.
David SheffRead
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