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'I raised a heroin addict': Mom writes gut-wrenching letter about addiction

In the midst of National Recovery Month, the Andover Police Department brought an important letter to light -- one written by the mother of a heroin addict.

The letter was written by Patricia Byrne and posted to the parenting site For Every Mom. Byrne describes how, despite her very best efforts as a mother, her son, Kevin, became addicted to heroin.

"What could I have done differently?" Byrne asks. "Should I have taken him back to school to get a forgotten book? When he left his report on the counter...should I have left it there instead of bringing it to school?"

Bryne writes that, yes, maybe she should have let her son "fall on his face" when he was younger, because that would have taught him how to face the consequences of his actions.

"I can't rethink what I didn't know," Byrne writes. "Don't just hope your children will never be exposed to drugs...assume they will."

Read the full letter here, and pass it on if you can.