Introduction

When a baby is born addicted to heroin because of an addicted mother and is transferred to a loving foster home, then bounced back via a highly publicized court case to the unfit birth parents, any sense of normalcy seems unlikely for the child. Likewise, when a young privileged boy grows up with a high society, full blown alcoholic mother whose disease kills her at 42, his chances of a normal life are slim, as well.

Sometimes the past doesn’t always stay in the past. In The Painting and the Piano: An Improbable Story of Survival and Love, John Lipscomb and Adrianne Lugo tell the story of how the demons of their respective biological mothers tore their young lives apart. Despite their contrasting upbringings, they share tragic childhoods that damaged each of them to the cores of their psyches and emotional well-being and resulted in addiction.

It all started going downhill for Adrianne when her addict birth parents started a long court battle in an effort to get her back. For John, it was when his parents divorced and he started living with his alcoholic mother.

John and Adrianne had to endure the painful toll that alcohol, drugs, and a negligent court system wreaked on them, and were in the depths of despair and slowly dying of addiction. Instead of falling to darkness, John and Adrianne reached for the light and began their respective journeys of healing, which led to a serendipitous meeting, falling in love and building a shared life with the goal of helping others in need.

Told as a tandem narrative with chapters alternating between Adrianne and John, readers embark on a journey through their unforgettable story of pain, loss, and the undying human quest for happiness.

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Excerpt

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Discussion Questions

1. How do we determine whether a child should remain with her adopted parents or be returned to the biological ones?

2. When should the government intervene in matters of adoption?

3. Should biological parents get "second chances" after giving up their child?

4. When alcoholism runs in the family how can a child escape its genetic threat?

5. Is the 12-step recovery system effective?

6. Have you experienced addiction in someone close to you?

7. How has Adrianne and John's story affected you?

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