Since the publication of Beautiful Boy, I’ve met hundreds of people and heard from thousands. Many tell overwhelmingly heart-rending stories. Now, with the publication of Clean, I hear from more every day.

A father, his stoicism quickly overcome by tears, says that his sixteen-year-old son has been in rehab for four days. Another father says he hasn’t slept for weeks, hasn’t been able to work. He and his ex-wife, his son’s mother, are battling, blaming each other. After three rehabs, their child, addicted to OxyContin and alcohol, relapsed and was arrested. “I don’t know what to do,” he says as he, too, breaks down.

I’ve continued to hear from so many people. Sometimes my wife and I sit together and read their letters. People write how their own or a loved one’s addiction consumes their lives. Their pain is so familiar to me—desperate and unbearable. And we hear so many encouraging stories of hope, too. Through my own experience as well as others—at rehab clinics, twelve-step meetings, and elsewhere—I’ve learned about the transformative power of sharing our stories with one another. This forum is for all of us—anyone who has been touched by addiction.