#238: Mental Health and a Sweet Boy with Kate James

It’s every young parent's nightmare and it’s some parents' reality. My guest this week shares with us her family’s story through her son's addiction, overdose, and recovery. She describes what it looks like through the eyes of a faithful mother who did all of the right things but still found herself in the middle of a war. We talk about her struggles with bipolar disorder and her husband's experience with Coronavirus. She has sweet encouragement for all of us moms - we are not alone in these struggles!

Katherine James attended Columbia University, where she also taught undergraduate fiction. Her debut novel, Can You See Anything Now?, won Christianity Today's 2018 Fiction Book award and was a semifinalist for the Doris Bakwin Award. Her new book A Prayer for Orion is out now and is very beautifully written. She lives in West Chester, PA with her writer-philosopher-preacher husband, they have three adult children who are more awesome than everyone else in the world and she prays for them every night.

WHAT WE CHAT ABOUT: coping with the pandemic with your family geologically spread out

Kate’s husband’s battle with COVID-19, recovery, and what God taught them through it

Kate’s bipolar diagnosis and journey

the “shoulds” while going through with depression

altering the definition of joy from feeling to faith

how medication has helped Kate

the misconceptions and guilt of having a child who’s an addict

predispositions for addiction

how Kate’s son’s addiction both strained and grew her faith

the use, shame, repeat cycle

resources for parents helping a child with drug addiction

LINKS MENTIONED: HopeForHurtingParents.com Clean by David Sheff You Are Not Alone by Dena Yohe

CONNECT WITH KATE: website | instagram | facebook

CONNECT WITH EMILY: website | instagram | facebook | patreon

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