Addicted Like Me: A Mother-Daughter Story of Substance Abuse and Recovery [Paperback]

Karen Franklin (Author), Lauren King (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 18, 2009

Told through the voices of a mother-daughter writing team, Addicted Like Me offers a detailed personal account of addiction and how it affects the entire family. Karen Franklin recounts her own past as a young addict, her struggle with the alcoholism of her parents, and ultimately her husband’s and children’s addictions. Lauren King, Franklin’s daughter, tells of her own spiral of addiction—from marijuana and alcohol to crystal meth. As a valuable complement to their own stories of addiction and recovery, Franklin and King also provide advice and resources for parents dealing with addiction. In this prescriptive section they discuss how to identify the signs of addiction, where to turn for help, and how to understand this disease. Told from the trustworthy perspective of two people who have been there, these hard-won tips are preventative in their efforts to help parents help their kids at an early phase, rather than glossing over what may be calls for help. Addicted Like Me tackles the long-lasting effects of addiction in many shapes, and provides a mother-daughter story of recovery that is sure to resonate with parents and children facing similar issues.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book could well be a life savior for anyone battling addictions, or those who are standing by watching,not knowing how to help someone they love. They will have more insight as to why this is happening, and knowledge is always a plus in any situation. I highly recommend this ,' tell it like it is' book and thank our two authors for having the courage to lay their lives before others in hopes of bringing them recovery and healing. Well done."
— Shirley Johnson/Senior Reviewer,MidWest Book Review

About the Author

Karen Franklin has spent the past 21 years recovering from the affects of addiction in her family and helping others in their recovery process. Karen spent 20 years in the information technology field and has volunteered since 1989 in facilitating adult and teen grief weekend recovery workshops. She lives in Arizona. Lauren King has lived a sober life for the last ten years. She has a wealth of experience to share that can help parents of teens to understand adolescent addiction. Lauren has spent her sober years working tirelessly to help others by passing on the gift of sobriety that she has been blessed with. She is currently pursuing a degree in chemical dependency, and plans to continue writing books on recovery from addiction. She lives in Arizona her husband and two daughters.

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Seal Press (August 18, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158005286X
• ISBN-13: 978-1580052863
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #997,698 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Karen Franklin has spent the past 21 years recovering from the affects of addiction in her family and helping others in their recovery process. Karen spent 20 years in the information technology field and has volunteered since 1989 in facilitating adult and teen grief weekend recovery workshops. She lives in Arizona. Lauren King has lived a sober life for the last ten years. She has a wealth of experience to share that can help parents of teens to understand adolescent addiction. Lauren has spent her sober years working tirelessly to help others by passing on the gift of sobriety that she has been blessed with. She is currently pursuing a degree in chemical dependency, and plans to continue writing books on recovery from addiction. She lives in Arizona her husband and two daughters.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, September 5, 2009

By 

Tina "Tina" (Montreal, Quebec) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Addicted Like Me: A Mother-Daughter Story of Substance Abuse and Recovery (Paperback)

As a person suffering from an eating disorder, I always feel a special connection with memoirs on addiction and recovery. I feel as though it takes a special courage to actually open up and tell your story and it is thanks to these people sharing their stories that other people can feel as though they are not alone AND also find hope at the same time.

Addicted Like Me is one of the most touching and honest memoirs on addiction that I have read. Based on the story of the mother and the daughter, both sharing their lives of addiction - showing us that addiction DOES, in many cases, run in families.

Addicted Like Me is a very difficult book to read. Both mom and daughter are extremely honest about their lives of substance abuse and you can definitely see the spiral in which daughter Lauren is finding herself in - while mom's story is just as scary.

I loved that both of these women found the strength to write this memoir and I am grateful to them.

Their ongoing recovery being from chemical dependencies is touching and full of hope.

This book is an important book to read - although different generations are represented here - it is obvious that addiction does not discriminate.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Honest Look at Addiction, December 14, 2009

By 

Jerect (Ga.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Addicted Like Me: A Mother-Daughter Story of Substance Abuse and Recovery (Paperback)

I have probably read almost every book that is out there on addiction trying to find a way to "fix" my husband which I now know that I cannot do and to find a way to relate to other people going through the same hell that I have gone through reguarding living with someone in active addiction.

Addicted Like me is one of the best books I have read on addiction. It gives one an open and honest look at what a parent goes through trying to help a child that is addicted to drugs and finally letting go to allowing her child to hit bottom and face the consquences of using drugs. Even though the addict in my life is not my child, I could still very much relate to what the author was dealing with when she wrote about her daughter.

Then I read Lauren's story and now I think I finally understand the nature of my husbands disease and what I need to do for myself in order for me to heal.

I would highly recommend this book to any parent that is struggling with their childs addiction or if they just want to talk to their child about drugs..

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lessons of Pain...and Beauty, December 9, 2009

By 

Dr. Dana Bevill "DrDanaOnline.com" (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Addicted Like Me: A Mother-Daughter Story of Substance Abuse and Recovery (Paperback)

The previous book reviews of "Addicted Like Me," offer outstanding descriptions of this often gut-wrenching, often beautiful story of their family's shared cycles of addiction.

As a clinician, I am truly impressed by the tools/recovery strategies the authors outline, following their personal stories of grief, loss, and healing. In Part Three of the book, "Watching Us Recover: A Mother-Daughter Guide to Recovery Strategies and Hope," Karen and Lauren outline very real ways of detecting if a child may be suffering from a substance abuse problem, creating cohesive support teams to help those who are addicted or abusing substances, behaviors/rationalizations that can be detrimental to the person's recovery (and to the family involved), and sound advice as to how to behaviorally manage and emotionally cope with a loved one's addiction.

I plan to use this book in my practice so that families may better understand and connect to the emotional and behavioral dynamics they may be facing when addiction arises. I also plan to use the tools presented to benefit them in learning healthy boundaries and coping strategies to hopefully provide some structure and education during such a chaotic ride.