The Sibling Perspective: A Front Row Seat to My Brother's Risky Lifestyle, Drug Use And Recovery, with Marco Narciso

ABOUT THE EPISODE:The siblings. What's happening to our other kids when we have one struggling with lifestyle choices, substance use, or mental health issues? How are they being impacted? What do they know? What should they know, and when? It's a real struggle for parents to know, and that's probably why it's one of the most common requests I get for podcast topics.I figured the best way to answer these questions would be to talk with my son, who watched his older brother go through "it" and share his thoughts; what he saw, how he felt, and the impact it's had on his life. It's a real conversation, and even though I may be slightly biased because he's one of mine, Marco's insights, wisdom and attitude are commendable considering the chaos and uncertainty he experienced at a young and impressionable age.We talk about things including:how he perceived his brother's actions and how it felt to not know what was really happeninghis choice to not go the 4-year college route coming out of a college-prep high schoolhis impressions of his brother being transported to wilderness therapywhat his support looked like and how he personally dealt with the uncertainty and chaoswhat he observed about me, his mom, through the experiencehis relationship before, during and now with his brotherhis thoughts on how we handled things as parentsthe concept of the siblings needing to be "perfect" and not cause parents more problemshis words of wisdom for parents going through it nowYou'll be inspired by this young man's ability to internalize and then use his experience to fuel the success he's building in his life today as a barber, stylist, retail store owner and so many other things.EPISODE RESOURCES:Other Hopestream episodes about siblings:Episode 4 with Tina JayesEpisode 33 with Danielle SchafferEpisode 55 with Dr. Nicole Kosanke and Krissy PozatekThis podcast is part of a nonprofit called Hopestream CommunityLearn about The Stream, our private online community for momsFind us on Instagram hereWatch the podcast on YouTube hereDownload a free e-book, Worried Sick: A Compassionate Guide For Parents When Your Teen or Young Adult Child Misuses Drugs and AlcoholHopestream Community is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and an Amazon Associate. We may make a small commission if you purchase from our links.