If You Love Me, Maureen Cavanagh
If You Love Me, Maureen Cavanagh
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

If You Love Me
A Mother's Journey Through Her Daughter's Opioid Addiction

Author: Maureen Cavanagh

Narrator: Maureen Cavanagh

Unabridged: 5 hr 56 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/04/2018

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

This program is read by the author and includes a bonus interview.

Maureen Cavanagh’s gripping audiobook memoir is the story of a mother who suddenly finds herself on the frontlines of the opioid epidemic as her daughter battles—and ultimately reckons with—substance use disorder.

Fast-paced and heartwarming, devastating and redemptive, Maureen’s incredible odyssey into the opioid crisis—first as a parent, then as an advocate—is ultimately a deeply moving mother-daughter story. When Maureen and her ex-husband Mike see their daughter Katie’s needle track marks for the first time, it is a complete shock. But, slowly, the drug use explains everything—Katie’s constant exhaustion, erratic moods, and all those spoons that have gone missing from the house. Once Mike and Maureen get Katie into detox, Maureen goes to sleep that night hoping that in 48 hours she’ll have her daughter back. It’s not that simple.

Like the millions of parents and relatives all over the country—some of whom she has helped through her nonprofit organization—Maureen learns that recovery is neither straightforward nor brief. She fights to save Katie’s life, breaking down doors on the seedy side of town with Mike, kidnapping Katie outside a convenience store, and battling the taboo around substance use disorder in her picturesque New England town. Maureen is launched into the shadowy world of overcrowded, for-profit rehabilitation centers that often prey on worried parents.

As Katie runs away from one program after another, never outrunning her pain, Maureen realizes that even while she becomes an expert on getting countless men and women into detox and treatment centers, she remains powerless to save her own daughter. If You Love Me: A Mother's Journey Through Her Daughter's Opioid Addiction brings the opioid crisis out of the shadows and into the house next door.

About Maureen Cavanagh

Maureen Cavanagh is the founder of Magnolia New Beginnings, a nonprofit peer-support group for those living with or affected by substance use disorder. She has been recognized by The New York Times, CNN, and other outlets for her work fighting the opioid crisis and the stigma that surrounds it.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Tammy on September 05, 2018

This is a story of hope steeped in unconditional love and focuses on a mother’s never ending anxiety, helplessness and utter devotion that leads her to become an advocate for her addicted daughter and the addicted children of others. It’s the brain not the upbringing that causes addiction. I can sum......more

Goodreads review by Valerity (Val) on September 02, 2018

This is an on point and important read about a woman’s story of having a daughter with a serious addiction problem. The mother got totally submerged in her daughter's addiction to the point that it was taking over her life and overwhelming her. It was affecting her relationship with her other childr......more

Goodreads review by Jennifer on May 31, 2019

4.5 Stars.......more

Goodreads review by Christi on September 11, 2018

The bond that a mother shares with her child is unspeakable. For most mothers there is nothing their child can do that will break that bond. Moms stand with their child, through thick and thin, even if it kills them. You don't ask a mom if she loves her child, you as a mom how much she loves them. Ma......more

Goodreads review by Sandra on July 24, 2018

WOW. So powerful. So heartbreaking. So many similarities. And so much power in turning her pain into purpose through her organization Magnolia New Beginnings. As a mom on the same journey, I could relate to every word.......more