Every week, Katy Christian Magazine gets about four to five requests for book reviews from various publishing companies across our nation. We turn down over ninety percent of them.
My bookshelves at the office are full of wonderful Christian books that authors have sent me, and quite honestly, I have not read a single one. Truth be told, I am not much of a reader (although admittedly, I should really spend more time doing so).
When local Katy resident and Christian author Richard Capriola, of the world renowned Menninger Clinic in Houston, asked me to read his work and to do a book review, a force inside of me told me that I should.
So yesterday, I spent the better part of the day consuming The Addicted Child. I am so thankful that I did. Once I opened this book, I simply could not close it.
I had no idea that over 70 percent of children, before they reach the age of 18, will experiment with drugs and/or alcohol, and that every year, over 20,000 children under the age of 18 will lose their lives to this disease.
Just over 12 years ago, I lost someone very close to me, whom I loved with all of my heart, to suicide. The warning signs were all there; I just did know what to look for. After that tragic loss, I have lived in a perpetual state of guilt that has tormented me every day.
Earlier this year, I almost lost a young woman that I have known and loved since birth to a drug overdose. If not for the swift actions of her friends and family, the story would have been so much worse. Again, the warning signs were there.
As parents, we believe that something like this could never happen to us… until it does. We live in ignorance, or even worse, denial, that our children will ever be led astray. But in a society with easy access to virtually every drug imaginable, the temptations are all too real for today’s child.
I had no clue that drug and alcohol abuse, eating disorders, and yes, even gaming and cellphone addictions, are not addictions at all. As The Addicted Child clearly points out, there are no “addicted children.” These are simply kids trying to self-medicate away their pain from a whole host of issues.
The book is an easy–to–read encyclopedia of sorts, covering everything that we as parents need to know. The topics range from what each specific drug addiction looks like, to the warning signs each possess. It also shows you what to do when abuse is discovered, and what we as parents should be doing to intervene.
Furthermore, The Addicted Child provides parents with a vast wealth of knowledge – knowledge from the little-known sources of support groups, and specialized government resources that very few know to exist.
I highly recommend The Addicted Child to every parent, grandparent, and even student, as a must–read. Do not wait until tragedy strikes until you act. It takes a day to become informed; it takes a lifetime to heal a deeply wounded heart. Otherwise, you could spend the rest of your life asking the same question over and over again, “what if…”
The Addicted Child can be found through Amazon at www.amazon.com/dp/B08KJHJYBY. The paperback version will be available on November 24, just in time for Christmas, and can be preordered at www.amazon.com/dp/1098327233.