Joey Song, the by Sandra Swenson

Joey Song, the by Sandra Swenson

By the age of twenty, Joey had OD'd, attempted suicide, dropped out of college, survived a near-fatal car accident, done time behind bars, and been kicked out of rehab. Now manipulative and hateful, the once sweet and charming Joey is long gone. This is the poignant story of a defiant addict and the mother who won't give up on him. She finally realizes that it hurts more to hang on than to let go, and that letting go is not the same as giving up. Sandra Swenson beautifully orchestrates a mother's lessons of love and loss, while surviving her son's addiction. Despairing parents of addicts will find comfort in this stark, yet hopeful tale.

As a physician specializing in the treatment of addiction, and as a parent who has struggled with addiction in my own family, I found The Joey Song to be a moving portrayal of a family plagued by the complex issues of a child's addiction. - David E. Smith, MD, FASAM, FACT, Founder of Haight-Ashbury Free Medical Clinics of San Francisco

Sandy Swenson has two boys, one of which is a drug addict. Her story is chronicled in The Joey Song. In the March/April 2013 issue of Bethesda Magazine, her article, Letting Joey Go, was highlighted. Sandy founded the Bistro Boys, a program for young men from the National Center for Children and Families' Greentree Adolescent Program, as a member of the Junior Woman's Club of Chevy Chase. The Junior Woman's Club of Chevy Chase received the Spirit Award for Humanitarian Advocacy from the National Center for Children and Families in 2012.