Guilt Ridden: Confessions of an Enabler

When an immature young man blunders headlong into a loveless marriage, and then compounds his error by fathering two children, he sets in motion a chain of events that lead him and his family to the brink of disaster. Unable to come to grips with his new role of responsibility, he attempts to extricate himself by the usual means - divorce and distance - only to find there is no escaping an all-consuming, guilty conscience.

Two years after their split, when his ex-wife was struggling with issues of substance abuse, Rich Ehrman left school, gained custody of the children, and reluctantly shouldered the burden. Resentful, emotionally bankrupt, he assuaged his guilt by lavishing his offspring with money, gifts, and unlimited freedom. Paying more attention to financial obligations than to his budding teenage daughters, they turned to drugs - one heroin, one methamphetamine. Frozen, unable to find the will or strength to intervene, he watched while their misguided attempts to connect deteriorated into mental illness - one manic-depression, one paranoid schizophrenia. It wasn't until the girls were on the verge of ruin and death that he found the courage to act . . . and yet they survived.