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Kids Helping Kids (KHK) saved Mears from impending doom and possibly death, changing our lives forever. KHK is a long-term adolescent alcohol and drug rehabilitation program that also treats the adolescents' family members. The first Friday night that I went to KHK, a man introduced himself to me, looked me in the eyes, and said that "Kids Helping Kids will give your daughter her life back." An hour later, I learned that he and his family had sold their home in Georgia and moved to Ohio so that they could participate with his daughter in the KHK program. Shortly thereafter, I made a decision to do all that I could to help other families who face the same devastating situation. My senior thesis for the Gaines Seminar in the Humanities is an effort to support this decision.

My complete thesis, which can be accessed at www.uky.edu/OtherOrgs/GainesCenter/, contains an extensive review of the relevant literature plus a history of KHK, an expanded version of the narrative, and the transcripts of all of my interviews with Mears. Here, I will present only an abridged version of my narrative of Mears and me. I give a voice to Mears' life story. This voice takes the form of a qualitative narrative in the style of interpretive biography. This mode of expression, though difficult, enables the espousal of essential truths about being human; few matters are more important. I believe that you will find Mears' story worth telling and hearing. "The story tells us in a meaningful way what life itself is about … life has an implicit meaning, which is made explicit in stories" (Josselson and Lieblich, 5, 6). I hold to the hope that our collective voice will both be heard and be helpful.

ADDICTION

Addiction is an actual illness. When we see somebody with a physical impairment we have compassion and some tolerance for what they have to go through. When we have a person who has a physical abnormality that's hidden away in the brain, we jump to judgement very quickly. People say 'Why can't they control their use of drugs?' They don't realize that there's actually something organically wrong. There's no doubt that

addiction is a treatable and preventable illness.
-Dr. Darryl Inaba,
Uppers, Downers,
All Arounders, 2000

The terms "substances" or "drugs" can include alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, inhalants, and numerous other illicit drugs including prescription drugs improperly obtained or used. Adolescent substance use (ASU) exists as a continuum of behavior. The spectrum of behavior begins with experimentation and sporadic use that may lead to a chronic, severe dependence with life-threatening consequences increasing as the progression continues. The progression of substance abuse from the heightened potential for use to dependence can be described by five stages. Particular behavioral signs and manifestations can be recognized in each stage.

Stage 0: Preabuse or Curiosity Stage
Stage 0 describes the adolescent with an increased potential for substance abuse. This increased potential for substance abuse stems from the combination of genetic susceptibility, personality traits, family influence, and environmental factors.

Stage 1: Experimental Stage
(Learning the Euphoria)
Adolescents in stage 1 have already made a decision to "try" drugs and begun learning the drug induced mood swing or euphoria. Drugs most commonly used at this stage are tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana, the so-called gateway drugs. Stage 1 drug use is confined to social situations, on weekends, in the company of others, and when others supply the drugs. There are few behavioral changes other than "avoidance lying" as interest in peer pressure from the drug-using world comes into conflict with the values and beliefs of the nondrug world.(Muramoto & Leshan, 144)

Some systematic research indicates that "the majority of adolescents who use substances do not progress to abuse or dependence" (Weinberg et al., 253). Additional research indicates that "much of the alcohol and other drug use in high schools is experimental, social, or habitual with bouts of abuse" (Cohen & Inaba, 327).

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