Feb 24, 2021
Like many people, Eilene Zimmerman believed drug addiction lived in another world, far from her family. That was until her ex-husband, the father of her children, died of an overdose and she discovered his body. How had everyone missed the signs of an ever increasing relationship to substances that was robbing him of his health, his career and his capacity to focus on the important relationships in his life? Eilene became intent on answering her questions about how a brilliant, high powered attorney went down this path, what prevented him from reaching out for the help he clearly needed and what education is needed so that the signs of addiction in a loved one are more easily identified. As a journalist, her search for answers accompanied her through her own (and her childrens') grief, indistinguishable from one another. Her memoir, Smacked, illuminates her own process and what she learned along the way.
On Good Grief we explore the losses that define our lives. Each week, we talk with people who have transformed themselves through the profound act of grieving. Why settle for surviving? Say yes to the many experiences that embody loss! Grief can teach you where your strengths are and ignite your courage. It can heighten your awareness of what is important to you and help you let go of what is not.