Life has a way of teaching lessons we never asked to learn. For me, those lessons have come through love—messy, heart-wrenching, transformative love. Loving an addict is not for the faint of heart. Loving a few in my life? It’s a journey that will bring you to your knees.

The people I’ve held closest to my heart have been locked in battles I can’t fight for them. I’m a strong willed person and have never struggled with addiction, yet I live in the tension of wanting to save them and knowing that I cannot. It’s a hell that far too many know, and one that I hope others never have to know. But somehow, love keeps me standing.