"Walking the Walk" with Ricky, my son: (A story about drug addiction)

Ricky was a happy kid. A bit undisciplined, perhaps, but confident and pleasant. Then divorce ripped his parents apart, leaving him in a world of suspicion and instability. Seeking an outlet for his anger and anxiety, Ricky found drugs—and began a long and painful descent into addiction.

Walking the Walk with Ricky, My Son chronicles the heartbreak of watching a child on the path to self-destruction. Wendy Williams reveals how divorce provided Ricky with ample opportunity to manipulate each parent for his own ends, stealing from both and using his family’s dissolution as the excuse for his behavior.

Like many parents of addicted children, Wendy suffered silently, constantly second-guessing her every decision. She learned quickly that stability is only temporary when living with an addict. Ricky’s moments of sobriety and normalcy offered moments of hope…each inevitably shattered.

Living with an addicted child is never easy, nor is living with parental guilt and the certainty you should have taken a different path from the one you chose. Wendy Williams offers her story as both a warning and a mark of solidarity with other parents walking the same dark path.