Barbara Lodge, founder of TruthTalks, is a native Angeleno who earned a B.A. in English from UCLA, and a Juris Doctor from Pepperdine University School of Law. She is a graduate of the UCLA Creative Nonfiction Writer's Program and her personal essays, many of which involve her family's experiences with addiction, are widely published. She also teaches writing to incarcerated young girls through WriteGirl, a Los Angeles based mentoring program. She has two wonderful young adult children, a daughter and a son.
Barbara became determined to find a way for parents, like herself, to stay connected with their kids whether the kids are using, or not. And so she approached young friends in solid recovery and started asking questions about their their adolescence and what they believe fueled their drug use. They were enthusiastic to share their stories, answer the hard questions, and provide unique access to information that changed her perspective.
In the spirit of these talks, she started running workshops for parents. It quickly became clear that by dialoguing with other young adults in solid recovery, parents gain a different vantage point from which to see their own kids. ...empathy for themselves and their adult children is born leaving room for miracles.
Over the past two years the drug addiction epidemic has tragically reached her small corner of the world. Nine (9) young adults she's known personally have died from accidental overdose. Their parents, good, loving parents; these kids, sensitive smart kids. The grieving parents have told her, if only I’d have understood that he was suffering, if only I’d have been able to talk to him without yelling, if only I'd have said "I love you."
