Addicted to Addicts‘ Denise Krochta interviews Cathy Taughinbaugh, a former teacher and mother of a crystal meth addict who has been in recovery for over 5 years.  Taughinbaugh writes on addiction, recovery, and treatment at TreatmentTalk.org.

In this revealing interview, Cathy Taughinbaugh talks about her youth: The alcoholism that runs in her bloodline, and her college-era experiments with beer, marijuana, and coke.  “I wasn’t really out using them all the time–I wasn’t buying them–and it really didn’t become that big a part of my life,” says Taughinbaugh.  Unfortunately, this was not the case for her eldest son and youngest daughter.

Thanks to Taughinbaugh’s ex-husband, her son was steeped in an environment of alcohol and drug abuse from the very beginning.  While the marriage ended in divorce, it was not without consequence.  “Everything went very well until the kids hit  high school…”

As a fourth grade teacher, Taughinbaugh struggled talking to the parents’ of her students–helping to prepare their children for their futures–knowing her own children were at home experimenting with drugs and alcohol.  Marijuana, mushrooms, and alcohol affected her eldest son throughout high school and especially college; leaving him with a lack of motivation and struggling in his adult life.  However, it was her daughter that ended up fully grasped in the evil claws of Addiction.

After finding crystal meth in her daughter’s backpack, Taughinbaugh’s world was rocked.  In denial at first, the problem went unchecked for several years until it eventually got to the point of no return: Something had to be done.  Her daughter was thoroughly addicted.

Learn more about Cathy Taughinbaugh, her story, her daughter’s horrifying addiction and intense recovery process; and how alcoholism, drugs, and rehab can shape your family’s life.  Hear one mother’s story of “cautious optimism” and how these two mother’s of addicts deal with their worry, regret, and everlasting love and support for their children.