Addiction is a concept that can be difficult to understand if you haven’t experienced one. We’ve all heard about addictions and how they destroy people, how they are capable of making a person lose themself. We’ve seen the extent some would go to obtain whatever it is they’re addicted to, but it doesn’t always make sense to us and we can quickly turn judgemental. Saving 6 highlights the grueling struggles that come with a drug addiction from a first person point of view. This book is the third installment of the Boys of Tommen series with Binding 13 being the first. The story follows Joey Lynch through his heartbreaking battle with substance abuse and his romance with Aofie Molloy.
At just twelve years old, Joey started using drugs as a result of his brother’s departure from home. He was left to fend for himself and his four younger siblings against their abusive, alcoholic father. He took the majority of the punches for his brothers and sister, but who’s there to protect him? Joey was burnt out, and that’s how drugs started to become the main focus of his life. He soon met Aofie at school and their friendship developed into a complex relationship, his drug addiction being the complicator. Aofie did the best she could to keep him from drowning in his addiction, but no matter how hard she tried, it never seemed to be enough. Joey wanted to stop using; he wanted to stop for his sister, his girlfriend, and his brothers, but his father seemed to make that impossible.
When thinking about drug addicts, many visualize a person who doesn’t care much about anything; someone who is irresponsible and dangerous. Essentially, we think of a bad person. In reality, it’s mainly the opposite. Oftentimes, people who use drugs actually care a lot and they use these substances to drown the emotions out. We don’t realize that many drug addicts aren’t bad, they just need a better coping mechanism for their day to day life. While reading Saving 6, it’s evident that Joey didn’t want to be an addict. He despised drugs more than anything, but he couldn’t stop because his brain and body were so dependent on them. It was heartbreaking to read because the book revealed that for many addicts, their hardest efforts weren’t enough. Saving 6 encompassed addiction in a way that readers can understand. It brought to light the reality of an addict’s life and why they find it so hard to resist drugs. The use of drugs should never be promoted, but the ability to understand and sympathize for others in that situation certainly should. Giving people the benefit of the doubt is crucial at times, because a false assumption is where cruelty blooms in this world.
