Stay Close: A Mother's Story of Her Son's Addiction [Hardcover]

Hearing about a family torn apart by drug abuse is not unusual, but what is unusual is how this family's story is told. This is a candid revalation of a family in crisis told from the perspective of the mother, her addicted son, and his other sibling. Each has a dinstinct perspective and tone of voice. This is a heroic story of how courage and persistence in love and support can slowly bring a family to healing. The struggle is not short, and the mistakes are admitted freely on all sides. This is a story for anyone who feels helpless in their struggle and wants to know what their loved one in need is feeling.
For me this story is more personal. I was one of the students at the school where Dr Libby Cataldi served as the head for 21 years. I knew her as a supportive advocate for all of us both in our education and our professional careers. I was one of the ones she was taking care of and who needed her. But my classmates and I had no idea of the personal struggle that was going on underneath all her smiles of encouragement. This book made me weep for her and for her family. I knew both boys as the extraordinary students and gentlemen they were as children. I remember thinking of the wonderful futures that I thought lay ahead for them with the benefit of their mother's support and love. How lucky I thought they were to have her. What I didn't know was how really lucky they would all be to have each other.
Read this book and think about how you can Stay Close in crisis, how you can manage through the fog of mistakes, and see through to a clear understanding of what makes family family.

Stay Close. More than a title. This books cuts to the meaning of Love. Addiction is a mystery and it comes in many forms. "Stay Close" takes the reader through an addicts life through the eyes of his Mother. This book is candid, provoking and filled with reality. Libby brings addiction out of the closet of shame and guilt, and into the forefront of understanding and even love. It is difficult to love an addict, and more difficult for an addict to love themselves. This book is guiding light not only for families effected by addiction but anyone with children. The phrase, "Love them through it." is only the beginning...

I'd like to thank Libby Cataldi for honoring and putting into words the deep love a Mother has for her children. It is not a weakness but a strength.

I would recommend this book to adults and teens; an invaluable lesson is written between every line.

Stay Close is a brave and touching story of a mother's fight and painful journey to save her son from drug addiction. Libby Cataldi's voice as a mother and educator is beautifully sincere, shining a light on what many families today face and are often too ashamed to speak about.

Early in the book Cataldi describes her two beloved sons through memories of a childhood filled with playful laughter, leaving a powerful and moving snapshot of the visceral love that they have for one another. As a reader, this image is painfully shattered as Jeff, the eldest son, falls to drugs throughout the course of his adolescence and into adulthood.

When speaking about addiction, I've often heard people say "I don't get it. Why can't they just stop?" People often don't stop to think that addicts are in just as much pain as those that love them. The self loathing they must feel because they can't stop, no matter how much they try, is unbearable, I'm sure. I didn't fully understand this before reading Stay Close. Between the heart-wrenching stories retold by his mother and brother, you will find that even in the midst of a terrible drug addiction, the love for his family and essence of Jeff was always there. Maybe he was clouded at times, but the Jeff that Cataldi describes early on always remained. Jeff's personal account, inserted periodically throughout the book, also provides insight to a life of friendships, music, trouble and drugs. His reflections are like finding the missing pieces of a puzzle and that's what makes this book so unique and captivating.

Because the mother-child bond is unlike any other, mothers will be touched by this story on a different and deeper level. Cataldi touches on relationships, the struggles of being a professional, working mother and all that that entails, and the importance of working closely with loved ones to support and discipline your children - as a team and under a united front. However, there is something in this story for everyone, whether you're a spouse, sibling, friend, or addict.

Stay Close will leave you with a greater understanding of addicts and respect for the entire recovery process. Addiction is extremely hard on those that love them, but also on the addicts themselves. The idea of "stagli vicino" or "stay close," that powerful Italian phrase that forever changed the life of this family, is different from what we hear and are told to do when dealing with addiction. We've all heard about "tough love" and the importance of cutting addicts off - not only financially, but emotionally as well. This story speaks of another way. It speaks of love and emotional support, even when it is toughest to give.

Stay Close is not only about a mother's painful experience with her son's addiction. It's a story about the redemptive power of a family's love for one another and the importance of never giving up hope.