As to morality, duty, and responsibility, if they have abandoned their children, I have also abandoned mine—by not being present for them and by placing a higher value on my perceived needs than on their real ones. If my patients have lied and manipulated, so have I. If they have obsessed about their next hit, so have I. If they persist long after the negative consequences strike them, so have I. If they repeatedly make promises and resolutions only to relapse, it’s nothing I haven’t done.
