Our family has been touched, some may say fractured, by heroin.

We have a 23-year-old grandson who is in a sober living house after several treatment attempts, and a granddaughter, age 20, who is in rehab for the fifth time. We also have a nephew, age 49, who is serving a 17-year sentence in federal prison for transporting heroin across state lines while possessing a firearm.

Their stories are more complicated than outlined above, but heroin has had a traumatic effect on our family and on the relationships between the nonaddicted family members.

[continues 148 words]