for the ones who struggle

Mom’s friend from the cartel is trying to better his life. He’s trying to get clean and figure out ways to build a life for his family, but he’s struggling. She’s been trying to help him recover like she did, from drugs and from his overall lifestyle. ⁣⁣
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This morning she said, “I'm going to have him read your book of short stories. I think it will really help him.”⁣⁣

“How so?” I asked. ⁣⁣

“It will help him see his life through the eyes of his little girls and how being in and out of prison has affected them.”⁣⁣

I shrugged. Then I said, “I can give you a copy for him if you think it will help.”⁣⁣

Her eyes went watery and she said, “Can you do me a favor? Can you write a note in it for him? Something to encourage him or to make him see his potential?”⁣⁣
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So, I opened a copy of From the Dust and wrote, “Dear Freddy”... ⁣⁣
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When I wrote this little book of short stories and my full-length memoir, I never thought about how they could reach the people like Mom, the ones who struggle with addiction, who make the wrong choices even though they know the right ones. I never thought I’d be writing letters to the cartel. ⁣⁣
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At first, I wrote these stories for me because I needed to get them out of my heart and memory in order to make sense of them. Over time, that self-service spread into hoping they’d reach children who have parents with addiction struggles. Children like me. I hoped these stories would help them see that love can exist even the dark places, that we can’t fit the ones we love into a box, and that love comes in many forms. ⁣⁣
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From the children of the struggling, I hoped it would spread even further — to all of us who are learning to forgive, to love, to accept. And it’s clear to me now that it also includes those who have struggled themselves. ⁣⁣
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I am so grateful for my life, for the stories I’ve lived, and the ability I have to share them. I hope my full memoir can make its way out into the world one day and can also leave a positive mark on the people who need it. But for now, this little book of short stories is a beautiful start.