David Sheff

Nic was a lovely child, though of course I'm prejudiced. I'm his father. ”

When change takes place gradually, it's difficult to comprehend its meaning. ”

I have my limited skills as a journalist and a father, and the journalist part is really part of my mindset, to use my skills to try to solve problems. ”

When, you know, when Nic became addicted, I was completely uneducated, and basically everything I assumed at the time turned out to be wrong. I guess the main thing is that I was so blindsided, that I had this idea of, you know, what an addict looks like, and it didn't look like Nic. And I realized that, you know, anybody can become addicted. ”

Well, addiction does start with a choice. ”

After writing about addiction in a pair of books, I frequently hear from addicts and their family members about serial relapses followed by treatments followed by more relapses. It's not uncommon for addicts to go through a dozen treatment programs. ”

Having been hit by drug addiction, knowing how many are hit by it and what a big problem it is in our neighborhoods and our culture, I feel a responsibility to do something. I can see what's wrong with the system - that we have to recognize mental illness as we do cancer or broken bones - and how we need to make it better. ”

The tragic fact is that with addiction, like many other illnesses, sometimes you can do everything right and people die. ”

Though addiction is a disease - a brain disease that's often progressive - addicts who relapse are often blamed. ”

I spent years searching for effective programs that would lower drug use and prevent addiction. ”