Addiction by Loree Lough

Addiction.

Statistics tell us that one in six adults will deal with substance abuse at some point, either personally, through the suffering of a loved one, or by way of the resulting costs … more than $200 billion in healthcare, criminal justice, lost workplace production, and more. Women, it’s said, become dependent more quickly on prescription drugs—tranquilizers, stimulants, mood stabilizers, sedatives, and pain relievers.

Such was the case for Lillie Rourke …

Young, vivacious, jubilant, and well on her way to establishing a successful career in the music industry, Lillie was the proverbial girl next door who had it all, including a handsome fiancé. And then, on an ordinary day, while running routine errands, her life was upended when her sensible compact was T-boned by a runaway Baltimore City bus. Multiple surgeries led to weeks in the hospital, weeks more in a rehab center, and an addiction to painkillers that turned the once-honest, hard-working Lillie into a desperate woman who regularly risked everything—and everyone—to secure her next ‘fix.’ It took losing Jase, the love of her life, to open her eyes to what she’d allowed herself to become. With the help of a musician friend in New York, Lillie signed into an intense live-in rehab therapy program. She returned home more than a year later, clean and healthy and hopeful for reconciliation with everyone she had hurt and disappointed.

Jase, for his part, was beside her during ambulance trips to the ER where, if not for the quick actions of skilled first responders, she would surely have died. He stood by her when she didn’t show up for work. When she stole from family and friends to support her habit. When she stole from him. The roller coaster ride might have killed him, too … if he hadn’t decided that enough was enough. She was gone nearly six months before he dated someone new.

And then she came home, upending his life with her new ‘look’ and her new attitude.

So yes, The Redemption of Lillie Rourke is about a woman’s struggle to overcome addiction, to make things right with everyone her disease had infected, to prove that by dint of her hard work, she’d changed, permanently. But it’s also about forgiveness. The forgiveness that Jase must learn to give the woman who’d already stolen his heart. Forgiveness that Lillie must learn to show herself. Without it, the music that had drawn them together will grow cold and silent, forever.

Take a moment to comment, below, to share your thoughts about addiction—and the overcoming of it—and I’ll add your name to my trusty winners hat! The prizes? A $25 Amazon e-gift card and TWO chances to win a free download of the book! (Larry will choose the three random winners’ names on Friday, April 20th.)

I hope you’ll enjoy this, the third and final novel in Heartwarming’s “By Way of the Lighthouse” series. And just in case you, or someone you love, is struggling with addiction, I’ve included a few links that will help lead to a cure.

https://www.northpointrecovery.com/blog/10-surprising-statistics-addiction/

https://www.rehabs.com/top-rated-treatment-centers/

https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/principles-drug-addiction-treatment-research-based-guide-third-edition/drug-addiction-treatment-in-united-states/types-treatment-programs

https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline 

About Loree:

With nearly 7,000,000 books in circulation, best-selling author Loree Lough's titles have earned numerous 4- and 5-star reviews and industry awards. She splits her time between her home in Baltimore and a cabin in the Alleghenies (where she loves to show off her “Identify the Critter Tracks” skills). She has 115 books in print. Loree loves to hear from her readers and answers every letter, personally. Visit her at Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and www.loreelough.com