Christine
Meet Christine Naman
I am the mother of a recovering addict. My daughter Natalie was in active addiction for over ten years. While Natalie suffered with her illness, as her mother, I suffered too.
While there was a lot of support out there for Natalie, there was less for me. I felt isolated and alone in my struggle.
Due to the stigma that often surrounds addiction and mental illness, I found myself experiencing overwhelming feelings of guilt and shame. I stayed to myself and remained quiet.
I knew that being about to talk about my feelings and experiences would help. But I was hesitant to do so.
A Safe Space for Moms is a safe space for mothers of addicts to do just that.
Through the online forum of A Safe Space for Moms, mothers will find that through sharing there is healing and hope and that it is indeed, okay to talk about it.
The Book
The Book "About Natalie"
My daughter, Natalie Naman, inspired the book, About Natalie which, in turn, inspired this gathering of people who want to live their best life—even though they’re facing addiction. It’s a book that reveals what it feels like to be the mother of an addict. It is not a fact book, a medical book or an advice book. But instead, it details how I cope, including the crazy emotions and other feelings that can’t help but surface when you’re trying your best to love an addict. It offers a hand and a hug to others whose loved one is struggling with addiction—which, in reality, means everyone struggles. The opioid crisis is epidemic: virtually no one exists who doesn’t at least know an addict or family of addiction. With so many touchpoints, we’re all struggling with addiction to some degree. About Natalie, the book, will offer support and understanding. I want people to feel comforted and not alone. I want people to read it and think “Wow, I didn’t know that!” I hope About Natalie provides knowledge. But not facts and figures or graphs. You won’t find the results of any medical studies in this book. But you will find a lot of heart—“all the feels,” as they say, in this book. If you look closely, you will find the pages of About Natalie are tear stained. The pages are marked with tears of joy and hope and sadness and heartbreak. While I was raising my children, I would always tell them that while you can’t always control where you are, you can make the best of being wherever you are. And you can still be the best that you can be. I would never have chosen to be the parent of an addict. It is hard and it hurts. But the reality is that even though this where I am, hopefully, this is not where I’ll be forever. But while I am here, I should make myself of use and help someone else. About Natalie is that outreach. Read more of the story behind the book, then post your own story of surviving and thriving in the face of addiction.