Greetings DestinyAwaitsDarling ,  Welcome to Writing.com! I was pleased to read  "My Monster Called “Addiction”"  from your portfolio and it is my pleasure to give your writing a review.

   This review too is being offered as part of the first portfolio raid review of 2023!    

January 7, 2023

  FIRST IMPRESSION
 
You are a kind friend and a gifted writer and you endeared yourself to me through your review of a work I did a few years ago. Friends should be given thanks...so I thank you friend. I thank you too for being so generous in your reviews of other writers on Writing.com. It is a big leap to put our feelings, dreams, hopes, fears and creativity into words. I feel you give your whole heart to empathize with the writers you review, and that is a beautiful sacrifice worthy of recognition and thanks.
 
Given your love for words and your selfless work to encourage others it was hard to read about your personal struggle. From your first paragraph, I knew it would be a hard read. Something in the "bones" speaks of cancer and death. I've had my own monster to deal with, but not, by the grace of God, to the bone level. So, while it was a hard read, I needed to know how you, a sincerely beautiful person, would describe the cycle of addiction. O, my child, you did not spare me.

  THEME
 
What kind of a life does an eight year addict have? Why does the cycle go on? And the deeper mystery, who, or what circumstances put a precious child of God into the cycle in the first place? My generation "experimented" with everything they could get their hands on and as a result, lost their minds. The first wave of "free love," and "free narcotics" roasted enough internal organs to knock off a third of my generation in the first five decades of our lives. Since then, dozens of cheaper, exotic derivatives have been formulated to win to the "party," even the most "straight-up" devotee to self control.
 
Thanks to my generation, the "monster" was unleashed in a way that no other society has ever experienced in the history of the world. And despite PSA's (Public Service Announcements), family pressure, religious indoctrination, "health class", and education, ..."if it feels good!" "...it will make you like God!" So many precious children of God, like my dear friend, were caught up in the only path of escape that seemed open to them at the time...

  STRUCTURE
 
Written in the first person, it is the individual, the self, that is being written too. At the same time the voice could be speaking to the universal "you" of the addict or the potential addict or the perceived addict. Taken as a testimonial or witness of the addictive cycle, there is a "holding-up-for- inspection," the "monster." Is this bone-sucking monster a being of truth or a lie? On the battlefield for our souls, the monster presents himself as the truth, but isn't it possible that there is One who is the one and only Truth and all else is a lie?
 
  MY FAVORITE MOMENT
 
This was my favorite moment:

“Your family, your friends, your significant other, they’ll all beg you to stop. They all tell you that once you stop, you’ll be right back to your old self again, like that’s the only way that they could ever love you. What they don’t understand is that the jar is broken; there is glass all over the floor, in the carpet, even blown up, and into the ceiling, and there is no going back because no matter how well you reassemble it, the cracks will always show. You can’t tell them that, though. You can only respond, 'I know. I’ll stop. I want the old me back too';”

I hear in these words the cry of the wounded little girl. The one who has lost everything and isn't even exactly sure why. One day she made a choice to walk a different path going home from school and suddenly is overtaken by the worst kind of animal humanity has ever imagined. Innocence gone. Purity gone. Body broken, mind detached from brain. Why? It is hard to imagine a hope coming out of all this horror and destruction. Yet, miracles happen every day. Yes. No.

I never wish to disregard another's story of being dismantled and discarded by life. But can I say I am sorry in the midst of what may be the person's last breaths? Even in my fallen nature, I will always want, no need, to comfort my cherished ones with, "I love you...believe me you are not alone...it will be better...you'll see."
 
  SUGGESTIONS
 
Your writing adds fuel to the fire of what disgusts me about my generation. I am writing an indictment of the things for which God is going to hold my generation accountable. The indictment names the Church, family, education, media, entertainment, arts, government, and society/culture. Because of the work I am already pursuing in this arena, I truly looked upon your words as motivation to keep dissecting the maladies of me and my people. I needed the view you were courageous enough to write about so clearly and passionately. Thank You.

My generation cast off all of the restraints of previous generations and perverted everything for its own pleasure and acquisition of treasure. It abhorred limits and discipline and raised their children to be racist, greedy, sexist, self indulgent, elitist, children haters and molesters. And that's just some of the people who now think of themselves as "good."

Your piece inspired my entrance into my closet, to repent for all that I have done as an elder in the church, an employee in the local government, a teacher in and out of the school systems, an American warrior and citizen and a watcher on the wall as an intercessor, for my lack of compassion, wealth, artillery and God's power to protect you from the harm that was pre-ordained to come through the folly of my generation's sin and life of sin. May God have mercy on every generation for their love of lawlessness and money. May God extend His grace and mercy to you as a victim of American generational "cold love."

So, as a piece that inspires one to consider what "my role" in your battle with the monster is, it is complete. You could pretty it up with a bit more white space. But as a "revelation" piece it probably doesn't matter all that much. You are amazingly articulate. I pray that the monster diminishes as an influence in your life.

  IN SUMMARY
 
"My Monster Called “Addiction”"  is a critical essay on the devouring tactics of the monster that oversees addiction and self incrimination in the life of a recovering addict. It is a brutally honest portrayal of what thoughts and ultimate actions drive the "addiction loop." Honest in its graphic depictions of life as a slave to the monster, the writer's story cries out for understanding and compassion. A difficult read, it is none-the-less, a critical read if one is to better understand the journey for all who are on the path to recovery.
 
I hope my thoughts and impressions have been a help. Let me know if you have any questions about my review.
 
Kind Regards,

~Kenword~ 
 




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