My brother is entering his seventh year of sobriety. He gave me his year-one-sober chip, and I carry it with me in my wallet, with pride.
Addiction is something whose power you’ll never understand if you have never personally experienced it. When I saw ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith go on one of his infamous rants, this time on the suspension of Patriots wide receiver Josh Gordon, I was enraged. When I saw Sage Steele double down the next day with the additional information that both she and Smith “have firsthand, heartbreaking knowledge of the devastation of addiction” I was disappointed.