The Heroin Game Of every one hundred players who start the game, three will survive, permanently recovered. Those who have been swept into the maelstrom of their loved one's addiction need to know that the bewilderment and torture they experience is shared by many. My story is every parent's story, and there are thousands (maybe millions?) who need to know that what is in their own hearts and heads is shared by others. Watching your child die, whether from drug addiction or disease, causes the same feeling of pain for a parent. Many "experts" may not agree with my take on addiction, but their methods have not changed the grim statistics. Personal experience goes beyond technical and intellectual understanding. Being the parent of an addict is like that. A plea to doctors, addicts, therapists, drug treatment centers, drug companies, politicians, and concerned society: work together to change the grim recovery statistics.