After countless short-term programs claiming "effective rapid detox," and "a lifetime of sobriety," we realized that my brother's heroin addiction, which over 10 years had spiraled out of control, was going to require more than a few weeks to cure.

Our family was torn apart. We tried talking to him, we tried living with him and we tried living without him. We let him go live his life the way he wanted to live it--this is not something I would recommend to anyone in a similar situation, as standing by and watching your loved one destroy their life is the most agonizing and perhaps the stupidest thing anyone could do. After not seeing or talking to my brother for two years, I found him one day panhandling on the street. I did a double-take and realized that this homeless, dirty stranger was my brother. He begged for my help and for a way out of the life he was trapped in.

His resolve to get clean was not constant; it waivered about as much as a dandelion on a windy day. All of a sudden he was "fine" and didn't need to go to a drug rehab, and then the next day he would be pleading for help again. This rollercoaster ride is what addiction IS. And once you see that, you can become the one who doesn't falter and keeps on towards the goal of effective rehab and sobriety. 

We found a good program for him--it was all natural, alternative of course. No more prescriptions. He needed a fresh start physically and mentally. He did a cleanse, replenished his body of nutrients they sorely lacked, he regained communication and life skills and, most importantly, the confidence he needed to rejoin society and achieve happiness.

Today he is nearly 10 years sober, living proof that addiction CAN be cured.

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Oh, he was angry. I knew he would be. I was afraid of what his friends would think of me, afraid that they would think I was a ‘tattletale'. We were all so young and worried about the superficial. Yet at the same time we were all so very strong. And we didn't even know it. To my relief, when I told his close friends what I had done that day, they stepped up to help. They spoke with his parents too, and together they devised a plan to attract his attention, and attempt an intervention.

A quick stint in a locally-based rehab program failed to reach deep enough, and so a more individualized approach was needed. In their search for help, his parents stumbled upon a long term drug rehab program. And he was on a plane where his life would change forever.

I kept myself busy, and stayed in touch with his friends and family over the next few months, maintaining the status quo. And then, in late autumn I received a handwritten letter from him brimming with honesty and gratitude. He acknowledged how betrayed he initially felt. But then I read the words I had longed to hear him say: You saved my life. I longed for these words not because it spoke to my ego. I longed for them because I was so afraid that I had, quite literally, lost a friend. At that moment my heart soared and started to mend with news of his healing.

He was to graduate soon from a special program that not only helped him physically detoxify, but enabled him to look inside of himself, to address issues that caused his drug use to snowball into addiction, and to free himself from that pain. My dear friend was back, and in better shape than ever: physically, emotionally, and spiritually. His introspection and newfound love and acceptance of self was refreshing, and his plan for the future was inspiring.

He went on to become a role model, and traveled the region educating young kids about the dangers of drugs and the science of addiction. He told them his story. He told them my story. He told OUR story. He reached down into his soul and realized his own essence as a teacher, a motivator, and a beautiful friend, son, and brother.

Now his family and our friends shower me with thanks and with admiration to acknowledging the enormity of his success. I quietly accept the thanks, but I emphasize that it is not at all about me. I tell them I may have been a catalyst, but that the awe-inspiring beauty of his recovery is entirely his own.

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