性视界APP

鈥淢y mother was the youngest child,鈥� said Smith. 鈥淪he was very smart. She received a piece of advice from someone long ago that told her if she wanted to make something of herself, that she would have to get out of this town (Lafayette). So, she got a full scholarship to attend the University of Tennessee. She worked very hard and made great grades, and once at UT-Knoxville, she entered the nursing program. She graduated at the top of her class, even making the Deans List.鈥�

Upon graduation, Smith鈥檚 mother began her career in nursing.

鈥淪he got a job in Nashville at one of the bigger hospitals,鈥� said Smith. 鈥淪he started on nights. I never knew my mother to be sober. She always needed a pain pill to deal with something going wrong in life, or she needed a pill to sleep, or whatever. It really didn鈥檛 take much for her to get high. Anything and everything was a reason for needing a pill.鈥�

Smith speculates on what may have been the beginning of their mother鈥檚 addiction.

鈥淚 think it started out of the need for love,鈥� said Smith. 鈥淗er mother was a single parent due to her father being killed at an early age while working. Her mother was always working to provide for her and her siblings. That left little time for my grandmother to be loving and show affection. My mother craved love, and my grandmother was just emotionally withdrawn from that.鈥�

Smith says her mother鈥檚 addiction affected family relationships for generations to come.

鈥淚 spent a lot of time with my grandmother,鈥� said Smith. 鈥淪he pretty much raised me, and when my mother eventually succumbed to her addictions, my grandmother became my mother for all intents and purposes. My mother, like so many people in our country, just couldn鈥檛 deal with life. Do I resent her for leaving us? Yes, definitely. I love her, but I鈥檓 cold towards anything that might cause me to remember her. I don鈥檛 like thinking of those times. My kids want to know about her. They get out pictures and things and want me to tell them about her, and it鈥檚 just too painful for me, I can鈥檛 do it. Maybe one day I will come to terms with it all and be able to, I don鈥檛 know.鈥�

Smith lives in Macon County with her family and hopes that someone reading can identify with her story and know that they are not alone.

鈥淎ddiction tears families apart,鈥� said Smith. 鈥淚t is horrible, and I hope one day it can be wiped out altogether.鈥�