Living Proof: A Tale of Two Pandemics
It was a tough reality to come to terms with: now I had an opioid addiction ​and ​a global pandemic on top of that to worry about. I was
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- May 21, 2020
- 8 min
One Look Changed EverythingÂ
She named me Bradley Currie Jenkins, giving me her last name because her boyfriend, my dad, wasn’t interested with me...
- Apr 15, 2020
- 7 min
I Will Miss You Forever
My parents waited anxiously for my birth as I was their first child. They loved me like no other and dotted over me, but our poverty...
- Feb 21, 2020
- 8 min
Awakening
My parents married really young and had a total of 12 kids. Sadly, eight died in infancy, leaving them only four to raise...
- Feb 20, 2020
- 9 min
In the Blink of a Bloodshot Eye
Addiction isn’t picky. Trust me. You can come from family dinners and a good education and still fall into dependence. I sure as hell did...
- Jan 31, 2020
- 9 min
Life Without Drugs
More to get him to shut up than anything else, I walked to the sliding glass doors.
I’ll be damned. Two dudes were climbing the fence...
- Jan 24, 2020
- 8 min
No Longer a Victim
People used to look at me and see nothing more than an addict who couldn’t keep a needle out of her arm long enough to...
- Dec 24, 2019
- 8 min
To Capture the Light Again
My mom gave birth to me in...Lagos State, Nigeria...but I should say, I come from a polygamous background. My dad had two wives...
- Dec 13, 2019
- 6 min
To Return to Myself
But what I wish I didn’t remember— what I wish I forgot so completely—was my father’s drinking. My father’s hands as they beat me...
- Dec 4, 2019
- 7 min
When Horizons Fall
Teaching, preaching, writing, and interacting with students of all ages gave me a sense of satisfaction, and I was happy...
- Nov 27, 2019
- 9 min
Forward Is the Only Direction
Those early years were rough on my mother as she was battling demons in the early stages of her alcoholism and drug addiction...
- Nov 12, 2019
- 6 min
Broken Shackles
It often feels like an unbearable privilege to write and make a simple living from taking all those wonderful and horrible patterns...
- Oct 15, 2019
- 9 min
There Is Life After Opioids
Good, no one had robbed me of my pain pills. I pulled out my trusty relievers and tossed a handful back. I could be without a home...
- Oct 8, 2019
- 8 min
Once a Passive Passenger
I shouldn’t have taken all those pills, I didn’t want to die. I needed to get to a phone to call 911, but it was so hard to move...
- Sep 19, 2019
- 7 min
14 Years Later
We had many adventures and shenanigans together. Unfortunately, both Stephen and I were influenced easily by peers...
- Aug 9, 2019
- 8 min
The Street Artist
I grew up on a large council estate with high-rise flats as far as the eye could see. It was full of crime, poverty, and drug addicts...
- Aug 7, 2019
- 7 min
The Courage to Move On
Together, they built a family. I had an unusual childhood as my siblings and I were the only mixed-race children in the town...
- Jul 30, 2019
- 7 min
For What I Believed In
...I always said the same thing—I wanted to go to the zoo. Once there, I would head straight for the tiger enclosure...
- Jul 27, 2019
- 7 min
At the Finish Line
I mean things started out pretty normal I guess, but at the age of three, my mom committed suicide due to drugs and alcohol...
- Jul 23, 2019
- 9 min
Coming back from Rock Bottom
Coming from a conservative town, no one cared to learn why I didn’t have a dad. They just judged my siblings and me for it...
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