A Familiar, Painful Look at Addiction in If You Love Me


If You Love Me: A Mother’s Journey through Her Daughter’s Opioid Addiction, Maureen Cavanagh

Working mother and Marblehead, Massachusetts resident Maureen Cavanagh glanced over the article in the local Salem newspaper detailing a local honor student’s arrest for prostitution, heartbroken at the story. Her sadness turned to disbelief when she realized the story was about her own daughter Katie, who struggled with an opioid addiction.

In If You Love Me: A Mother’s Journey through Her Daughter’s Opioid Addiction, Cavanagh tells her story of concerned mother who can’t at frst separate herself from her child’s addiction, to an advocate for her child’s health, who has to separate herself if she is going to survive and have her own life.

Cavanagh’s prose at times reads like reportage, barely resembling an artful take on her journey through her daughter’s addiction. She holds nothing back, however, telling the story in the same way you might imagine she would tell a good friend. The fear, determination, and frustration of a mother trying to save her daughter all come through.

The story itself will likely seem familiar to anyone who’s dealt with a loved one’s addiction. It might also serve as a means of hope, but it won’t feel like new ground.

Thank you to the Boston Public Library for recommending If You Love Me: A Mother’s Journey through Her Daughter’s Opioid Addiction.

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