Jessica Lahey | The Addiction Inoculation

My guest today is Jessica Lahey. Jessica is the author of the New York Times bestselling book, The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed and The Addiction Inoculation: Raising Healthy Kids in a Culture of Dependence. Over twenty years, Jess has taught every grade from sixth to twelfth in both public and private schools, and spent five years teaching in a drug and alcohol rehab for adolescents in Vermont. She currently serves as a recovery coach at Sana at Stowe, a medical detox and recovery center in Stowe, Vermont, where 100% of her salary goes to a scholarship fund for young adults. She writes about education, parenting, and child welfare for The Washington Post, New York Times, and The Atlantic, is a book critic for Air Mail, and wrote the educational curriculum for Amazon Kids’ award-winning The Stinky and Dirty Show. She co-hosts the #AmWriting podcast with bestselling authors K.J. Dell’Antonia and Sarina Bowen from her house in Vermont, where she lives with her husband, two sons and a lot of dogs. In this episode we explore:

- Jessica’s new book, The Addiction Inoculation

- The complexity of whether adolescents develop substance use issues

- Jessica’s personal experiences later in life with addiction 

- The role that AA has played in her recovery 

- The missing gaps in our education system for preventing substance use disorders

- What it means to live in a culture of dependence ————————————————————————— Jessica’s website: https://www.jessicalahey.com/ Her books: https://www.jessicalahey.com/books #AmWriting Podcast: https://amwriting.substack.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jplahey Twitter: https://twitter.com/jesslahey

————————————————————————— If you find value in the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It only takes 30 seconds and plays an important role in being able to get new guests. I also love reading them!  Connect with me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mentallyflexible/ Explore the website: https://mentallyflexible.com/ Check out my song “Glimpse at Truth” that you hear in the intro/outro of every episode: https://tomparkes.bandcamp.com/track/glimpse-at-truth