Kerri Rhodes

HOW?

School shootings, overdose, suicide, and crime and that’s just this week. HOW? How did something like this happen? Suicide, overdose, school shootings, relapse, crime, and that has just been THIS week. Unfortunately, it is EVERY week. It takes a lot to catch our attention because it’s just too much. We are NUMB. This week aContinue reading “HOW?”

Second Mountain

Twenty-Three Things Taylor Taught me. June 17, 2022 On the first anniversary of Taylor’s death, I wrote this list. Twenty-One things Taylor taught me. Today in heaven he is twenty-three. Every day I try to honor him because he’s worth honoring. Hears to twenty-three beautiful boy. As Taylor’s mom I have learned so many lessonsContinue reading “Second Mountain”

Demand Better

This documentary powerfully tells the story of three families who struggle with Substance Use Disorder and why we need to do better in how we manage pain in this country. Our family could have been in this documentary. This story is our story and the story of far too many families. June use to signalContinue reading “Demand Better”

Band of Brothers

When Taylor started this journey, I didn’t realize how many beautiful people and and families we would meet. Families with children who were struggling with Substance Use Disorders. Families that were holding on by a thread. When Taylor was in a collegiate recovery program in Raleigh, NC he made some amazing friends. The kind youContinue reading “Band of Brothers”

There is Always HOPE.

This is for all the people that are struggling to hold on while loving someone struggling with a substance use disorder (SUD). This morning I was returning a text to a friend, whose son is in inpatient treatment for SUD once again. Her message said in short, this is such a rollercoaster and it feelsContinue reading “There is Always HOPE.”

Shoulder Surgery and a bottle of Percocet.

Taylor’s addiction started with a shoulder surgery and a bottle of Percocet. He would later tell us that when he took those Percocet, it made his “brain feel normal for the first time”. It was the match that lit the spark that hijacked his brain and led to his battle with addiction. He chased that feeling untilContinue reading “Shoulder Surgery and a bottle of Percocet.”

Taylor’s Story-Stop the Stigma

Coincidence? In the first few weeks after we lost Taylor it was all such a blur. I don’t remember much about it in truth, but thankfully my letters to Taylor in those early days remind me about some of the extraordinary things that happened to remind us we were loved and that the universe worksContinue reading “Taylor’s Story-Stop the Stigma”

21 Things Taylor taught me

21 things Taylor taught me: As Taylor’s mom I have learned so many lessons in his life and from his death. Ironically his addiction taught me the most important lessons of all. When he was young around ten, he had gotten in trouble for something and in one of my finer parenting moments we wereContinue reading “21 Things Taylor taught me”