Drug addiction not 'so cliche'

Managing Editor

link Alisa Boswell

Talking about writing and writing workshops last weekend got me thinking about a writing workshop I attended early last year.

I had written a short story for the workshop, which revolved around substance abuse, and the person running the workshop did not care for my story. He said I was playing a dangerous game writing about something “so cliche.”

I’ve been writing my entire life, and I have been in journalism for a few years now. So I am no stranger to criticism, and to be honest, I welcome and appreciate it most of the time; constructive criticism is what makes one grow as a writer.

I knew the man meant well and was trying to give constructive criticism but hearing substance abuse referred to as something “so cliche” offended me. There is a big difference between a prominent problem and a cliche.

Reality television shows revolving around the issue have made light of it, but the way drugs consume a person’s life is not something to take lightly at all. My short story highlights an alcoholic isolated in his home.

I was also criticized for having no outside elements in the story, but the narrative being a one-person story was intentional, because I wanted to show the isolation one places themselves in when their world becomes consumed by addiction.

Perhaps the subject hitting so close to home makes me sensitive to commentary, but my familiarity with it is what made me write the story. There has been a fairly long line of substance abusers on one side of my family, so I am all too familiar with the feeling of fear and devastation that comes with wondering if your brother is going to be found dead at 24 years old from a drug overdose.

Some might see it as odd that I would publicly admit to substance abuse in my family, but on the contrary, I couldn’t be more overwhelmed with pride at what my family members have overcome.

Ten years ago, my older brother and his current wife were drug addicts. Today, they are happily married with a baby girl, and my brother has a successful full-time job while also going to school full-time, and my sister-in-law is a gifted artist and amazing mother.

After drug use and time in jail, my cousin has been drug-free for years now and works as a counselor in a drug rehab facility. I’ve never seen someone so passionate about their work as he is and with such a devout faith in God.

My aunt has had her share of battles with falling off the wagon with alcoholism, but she has climbed back on every time and, now, she is doing better than ever as a full-time school teacher with a workout regimen that puts mine to shame.

The hurt you feel when you watch those you love hit rock bottom is overwhelming, but you will never know a bigger sense of pride as when you watch them pick up the broken pieces and rebuild from them. I love my family and watching all the beauty they have created after the heartache makes me love and respect them all the more.

Alisa Boswell is managing editor for Portales News-Tribune. Contact her at:

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