Killing The Bear: Surviving Teen Addiction

Over the past fifty years, the face of addiction has changed in America-it has become much younger. It is estimated that 90% of serious problems with alcohol and drugs in our country begin between the ages of 12 and 20. Unfortunately, our efforts toward the prevention and treatment of alcohol and drug use by youth have not kept pace with this new reality. For parents who have found themselves dealing day to day with a teen caught in the grips of addiction, the gap between this new reality and the inadequate remedies is often overwhelming. Despite a successful career in the field of mental health, Andrew Tennison was one such parent. While he knew how to help children and teens who had suffered from abuse and neglect, he knew nothing about how to help his own son, Ian, as he slipped into the nether world of aggressive alcohol and drug use.Killing The Bear is his story about what it was like to be a parent of a teen struggling with addiction and what he did about it. Written for parents who are traveling a similar path or those who want to help such families, Killing The Bear provides both a personal account of living with teen addiction and practical ways of surviving it.