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Cashiers Library
Written By: Luke Osteen | Issue: 2018/09 - September
Albert Carlton-Cashiers Community Library will present a lecture by Patty Smith, author of “Beyond Rock Bottom: Escaping the Dark Hole of Addiction,” at 3:00 P.M. Friday, September 14. The book, written with her son Grayson, chronicles Grayson’s deep addiction and how the two of them found recovery. The presentation is free and open to everyone.
Ms. Smith, who lives in Cashiers, will outline the experience of her family, recognizing that families across the Plateau and across the country are facing the same issues.
“This is our separate journey to a world of health and freedom,” she says. “I’ll explain what life was like for us, what happened for us to want to change and what life is like now.
“Grayson started drinking cough medicine at 14-years-old and by the time he was 15 he was taking pills, drinking, and smoking pot. I was at my wits’ end trying to figure out what was wrong and how to fix it. His drug use increased rapidly and I’ll never forget his phone call after what could have been a fatal car wreck.
We tried all kinds of things to help him: therapy, changing schools, self-help books, and stricter rules, but things only got worse. I got worse, consumed by awful thoughts of ‘what ifs.’”
“We sent him to rehab and then watched him move out West at 20. I began to let go of him as my attention shifted to the needs of our middle son, also battling addiction. Our family was falling apart and I learned I was powerless over addiction.
“In my desperate search for answers, I began to see what recovery for me would take. I walked back in on myself and took control of my life, and in time, began to heal. Grayson, in his own journey and desperation, eventually found recovery for himself. Be assured that writing this paragraph of sixty-six words, however, doesn’t begin to convey the heartache, frustration, and struggle.
“Our lives became unmanageable and at different points we surrendered to God and applied the twelve steps of
Alcoholics Anonymous.
“Today, we both enjoy the freedom that recovery brings. I live my life and recovery and he lives his life and recovery. Separately, we pursue physical, emotional and spiritual health. We do this one day at a time.”
Albert Carlton-Cashiers Community Library is located at 249 Frank Allen Road. For more information, call (828) 743-0215.
