Nichole Chase: Addiction will touch you and your loved ones
Nichole Chase, author of Reluctantly Royal, joins HEA to explore issues of addiction in real life and fiction.
Nichole: You know one. You're related to one. There's a good chance you are one. Close to 20 million Americans are addicts. The NCADD (National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence) estimates that half of all adults have a family history of alcoholism. Addiction isn't a discerning disease. It doesn't care if you're rich, poor, educated, religious, benevolent, evil, or from a royal family. Yet, addiction is often ignored, looked down upon or discussed in whispers as if it's a shameful choice. Considering that alcoholism and addiction touches all of us in some way or another, it's astounding that the majority of people pretend that it doesn't exist or that they haven't experienced its powerful influence. Addiction affects all of us. You will interact with, know and likely love an addict at some point in your life. That's not a possibility. It's a fact. Addiction will touch you and your loved ones. It's touched my life in many different ways; some good, some bad, but always leaving its mark. So it only makes sense for it to touch our fictional characters as well.
I decided to put this ugly truth up front in Reluctantly Royal. Addiction is a character in the book as much as the man it consumes. Meredith's life has been completely shaped by her father's addiction. She searched for love in all the wrong places before completely cutting everyone off but her son to protect the remains of her tattered heart. Meredith really could have benefited from a community of people who had similar experiences, but she didn't go looking for help, she just built thicker barriers. As long as she could pretend that it wasn't happening, wouldn't happen again, then she felt safe. Especially because she had been given the chance to move out of her father's reach. Unfortunately, she's thrown back into the very place she had worked so hard to escape.
Thankfully, Meredith isn't alone this time. She's under the watchful eye of the royal family of Lilaria — especially that of Prince Max. His protective instincts are triggered when he is sent to bring her back to Lilaria for the death of a family member. Romance blossoms between the two, but it's the sense of stability and support that helps Meredith understand she has to take steps to better the situation.
The raw truth is that it's not easy to break the cycle of abuse. Most of the people affected by it are terrified that they will make it worse and have a hard time seeing a way out. Abuse comes in many forms, not just the extremes you will read in Reluctantly Royal. Sometimes it's verbal, sometimes it's physical, and it's always mental. It can color your perceptions about everything, and you might not even realize how it's affecting you. Misplaced guilt, fear and anger are toxic in different ways, and the best way to handle those emotions is with the help of a professional. If you or a loved one is in a situation where you feel threatened in any way, you should seek help. There are many agencies that want to help you, that can help you, that will help you. You just have to take that first step and reach out. I'm not going to lie and say it will be easy, but that's the way with good things.
And I believe everyone deserves a Happy Ever After, not just the characters in my books.
Here are some places where you can find help:
Find out more about Nichole and her books at www.nicholechase.com.