Home / Blog / addiction / recovery / stigma of substance abuse / substance abuse prevention / Update on DJ AM
I want to follow up on yesterday’s post about death of Adam Goldstein, aka DJ AM. I know a lot of people are struggling to come to terms with his death right now. I’m one of them.
I know that in the coverage of his passing, the media is going to focus on the meth pipe in his apartment, and on the prescription drugs, and, of course, on the fact that he died of an overdose.
As I read more about Adam, I’m amazed at the good he accomplished before his horrible, tragic relapse. He had been committed to sobriety for many years, and he took his recovery seriously. He was active in the recovery community, and he helped many drug addicts and alcoholics as they battled the relentless demons of addiction. This is a man who was out there saving lives every day. He took his own addiction seriously, and he took his own recovery seriously, and perhaps that’s why this is so frustrating for me today. It seems unfair that some people get to abuse drugs for years and years and years, never once trying to clean up their act, and they seem to live forever in spite of it. From what I’ve heard, Adam’s relapse was recent. He slipped and then he didn’t get much of a chance to get back up on his feet. His addiction just kind of swooped in out of nowhere and got him.
I hate the idea of him dying as an addict after all the years he fought and worked so hard to stay clean. I hate the idea that that is how the media might remember him. I hate him dying like this after surviving against such great odds, time and time again. It’s incredibly frustrating, and I’m sad and I’m angry. Although he ultimately lost the battle with addiction, it sounds as though he really did come at it with both guns blazing. Many others are clean and sober and alive today because of the impact Adam had on their lives. The man brought far more good and beauty into the world than his tragic death would indicate.
I am again reminded that recovery is fragile and no matter how hard we try sometimes it’s just not enough.
God bless you DJ AM as you are with our almighty God now and throughout eternity.
