Children, Parents and Drugs I would like to share my impressions after reading Lyudmila Ulitskaya’s book “Jacob’s Ladder”. One part of the book describes how a drug can destroy the life of an entire family. The story of a young man named Yurik, who came to study with his father in America. In New York, he got into a music scene and there he became acquainted with heroin. In a short period of time, the guy sank to the very bottom. The father, as often happens with loved ones, realized that his son was sick when Yurik was already firmly on the needle. Not knowing how to “resolve” the situation, he called Yurik’s mother in Moscow. And here's the most important thing! The book describes how the mother began to fight the disease. Not with the son, which happens in many families where such trouble comes, but with the drug. She did not sprinkle ashes on her head, blaming herself for what she had missed somewhere. She did not blame her son, leaving him alone with this nightmare. She didn’t understand at all why this happened and who was to blame. The author describes very well what she felt, how she was afraid, but acted. The first thing she did was promise her son that everything would be fine and in any case she would support him, and he would always be her beloved son. (What do many families do? They make a terrible mistake by abandoning the child or threatening him with expulsion from the family.) Then, she found a clinic and brought Yurik to Moscow. And it wasn't easy at all. Those who have encountered this disease know that heroin does not just go away. And after the clinic, she didn’t reproach him with a word or a glance. She almost felt this loss, the loss of her child. And I understood that now was not the time for moralizing and lectures. For her, it was more important that her son was alive, and not what she did for him and now he should be “clean”. She understood that since a dependent person blames and spreads rot inside himself, no moralizer could even repeat it. In general, the heroine’s son pulled out. She helped him win, but only with love and support. Everything ended well for them. Unfortunately, I encountered this nightmare and it was not for nothing that I wrote the word drugs with a small letter today. I want you to know that this disease is not stronger than a person, you just need to believe in yourself and support your loved ones.