Keynote Speaker: Author Jessica Lahey

Our keynote presenter was Jessica Lahey, the New York Times best-selling author of The Gift of Failure. She shared science and relatable stories from her new book The Addiction Inoculation to help parents, educators, and others understand the roots of addiction, to identify who is most at risk for developing a problem, as well as clear, practical steps for prevention.

According to her bio, Jessica Lahey was born into a family with a long history of substance use disorder. Despite her desire to avoid this genetic legacy, Jessica developed alcoholism and didn’t find her way out until her early forties. She has worked as a teacher in treatment programs for teens and was determined to inoculate her own teens against their most dangerous inheritance. All children, regardless of their genetics, are at some risk for substance misuse. According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, teen drug addiction is the nation’s largest preventable and costly health problem. Despite the existence of proven preventive strategies, nine out of ten adults with substance use disorder report they began drinking and taking drugs before age eighteen. (Excerpted from Amazon.)

The audience heard research on adolescent brain development, the difference between adolescent use of drugs and alcohol and adult use of drugs and alcohol, and the importance of delaying. Additional risk factors were explained including genetic risk, academic failure, and social isolation, as well as ways that risk can be practically mitigated. The presentation was not recorded, but much of the content can be found on her daily Instagram posts Folllow @teacherlahey on Instagram or twitter. Based on everyone’s enthusiasm,
a winter book club meeting is in the works!

Books were for sale from Buttonwood Books, with book signing available after the speaking program.