Recently some students at Generation Voice have been working on interviewing skills and as part of that effort were asked to sit down with their parents and dig deeper into their stories and their relationships.
Some of these interviews sparked frank and candid conversations, conversations we'll share over the next couple of weeks in our Enlighten Me segment.
We start with Mount Pleasant junior Chris Smith and his mother, Dawn Smith. Dawn has struggled with pain - both mental and physical. She battled alcoholism after the loss of a child, as well as a broken hip and botched surgery after slipping on ice a couple of years ago. Now, she’s working to reconnect with people in her life - including Chris.
Read Chris's reflection:
My mom and I have usually had a really close, open relationship, where we can talk about anything. It shows in the in-depth and personal contents of this interview.
When I was young, things began to spin out of control and she took to drinking at night to cope. After my stepdad had left her and she lost her unborn daughter, she hit rock bottom and was losing sight of her ambitions and dreams.
I felt like I had to distance myself from her, and at one point I felt as if I had no other option, so I resorted to forcefully removing her from the house for six or seven months. One of the hardest parts was not knowing where she was.
She’s recently returned home, and no one has forgotten what has happened, or what she’s put anyone through, especially me. The first step to recovery is to acknowledge the problem, and every day she beats against the current, reaching to be a better person every day, ignoring the stigma of being a recovering alcoholic/drug addict.
She’s gotten a lot of help and has gotten better, and the future holds more improvements. I hope this has helped others - who are possibly going through these circumstances themselves or something similar - the same way it helped me. Addiction and hardship isn’t something to bottle up, and sitting down and talking can do wonders to help release built up remorse and resentment.
