Devastated Nation –

July 24, 2020 – His athletic frame became bloated and heavy; his sunny disposition turned lethargic and mean. 

When he was unable to maintain his law practice, clients left. Although he was admitted to the bar in four states, his licenses expired. His salary trickled down to nothing. The state came after him for back taxes. His wife eventually left, saying he was a liability to their children. 

Our family life dissolved into a nightmarish cycle of rehabs and relapses. My parents finally cut off monetary support when they found him unconscious in their living room, fresh off his second stay in rehab. After three tries, Matt told us rehab didn’t work, and that he did drugs there, too. We sought therapists, psychiatrists and alternative treatments.

“You can’t change me,” he told us. 

Soon Matt’s friends and colleagues moved on, embarrassed when he was high on the golf course or nodding off at lunch. He ripped a plastic bat from a child’s hands and smashed a piñata to bits at a family picnic. As the children plucked bits of candy from the grass, he sped down the driveway in his black sedan. 

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