“One day you will tell your story of how you’ve overcome what you’re going through, and it will be someone else’s survival guide.”
– Brene Brown
From the Author
“Everything happens for a reason.”
I’ve always cringed at that response when sharing my emotional pain and disillusionment. It’s one of the many reasons I kept much of my struggle to myself. While the statement may hold truth—even if the “reason” is simply that suffering is part of our evolution, absent any tidy redemption—it took me years to understand the purpose within my own family’s decade of heartache, loss, and fear. Now, I do. What once felt surreal in the worst possible way has revealed its meaning.
The profound truth I wish to convey in sharing our story is this: on a soul level, my sons, their father, and I chose this experience together. I believe we entered into these roles—here, now, in this lifetime—with intention. That includes my role in writing In Spite of Heroin. Our shared purpose was to offer hope, resilience, and fortitude to those suffering from addiction and its consequences—and to anyone carrying despair for their own reasons.
It matters deeply to me that my sons’ legacy is understood. You may read this book and judge them—or me—based on actions and choices. But the deeper truth is that they are courageous souls who endured profound human suffering in service of something larger than themselves. Our family’s story stands, for me, as living evidence that we are souls inhabiting human lives, each moving toward a divinely appointed destiny.
“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience.” -Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
When you begin to view your own life through that lens—when you ask what your suffering might be shaping you to contribute—life can begin to make a different kind of sense.
Thank you for reading In Spite of Heroin. I sincerely hope that, in whatever way—profound or subtle—it serves you.Listen to the voice of your soul; it knows why you’re here.
C.L.Cullen
I feel you touch everyone you talk to for one reason or another. You are really connectable to many in ways you don't totally see. You are raw, open, and very well spoken, meaning you describe things better than anyone I've ever met. You are not scared to be vulnerable, and you are very special and rare. Keep sharing your story and being you.
I finished reading In Spite of Heroin in one day. It is wonderfully written, and should be mandatory reading for lawyers, counselors, and treatment providers who try to help with addicted clients. Well done!
I have 2 boys with drug and alcohol problems which we continue to deal with – they are 18 and 24 years old. Reading your book was not easy and had to be done over the course of a week in all for me to reflect and take it all in. I want to thank you for sharing your story and let you know that it may be one of the most worthwhile books I've ever read.