Worn out. Powerless. Heartbroken. Alone. Cyndee Rae Lutz has walked this path. In this book, she weaves the painful account of her son's drug addiction with the healing strategies and spiritual wisdom that transformed her life--and can transform others, whether they're facing a crisis or wanting to change direction. Her fusion of powerful ideas, concrete steps, and pertinent examples both liberates and empowers the often-distraught family member or friend to reclaim their life. And it just might be the best thing they can do for their loved one. Often when they get better, their loved one gets better too.
Cyndee Rae Lutz has evolved with her life circumstances, including starting a successful magazine, Divorce in Denver—Moving Forward, following her divorce and becoming a yoga teacher as well as a Twelve Steps mentor in Al-Anon after her son became addicted to drugs. In When Your Heart Belongs to an Addict, her first book, she combines wisdom from these and other philosophies and spiritual practices with her harrowing yet transformative experience as the mother of an addicted son. The result is a practical set of tools to help others survive and thrive in the shadow of addiction.
As an author, speaker, and mentor, Cyndee helps people understand their inherent worth and reclaim their lives from societal expectations, codependency, and the effects of a loved one’s addiction or challenging circumstances. She is a compassionate, approachable resource, and her desire to guide individuals toward their better selves drives both her personal and professional endeavors.
In her free time, Cyndee logs miles upon miles in her walking shoes—often accompanied by her standard poodles—and practices yoga and meditation. She lives with her husband in Centennial, Colo.
It took an awfully long time for me to figure out that while I was focusing on saving my son, I forgot about my own wellbeing. I knew how much my son's addiction dominated my daily life, but I hadn't realized how much I had become a reflection of his addiction - and nothing else.
Book Excerpt
When Your Heart Belongs to an Addict: A Healing Perspective
You lose control of your own life. Your existence becomes tightly enmeshed in the addict’s. You become codependent. Often, it can take a long time to understand that the addict’s or alcoholic’s behavior isn’t a reflection on you, nor are you responsible for their life turning out well. You become quite interreliant: if they’re having a good day, you can have a good day and vice versa. Put another way, your health and happiness hinge on their behavior. You forget what it was like to live “your” life and don’t find much that brings you laughter or joy anymore. Many people suffer depression; some even entertain the thought of suicide.
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