The author's son Jeff is a heroin addict. He was not born this way, or maybe he was and the addiction was there, hiding, all through his childhood years. That is the thing with addiction, no one knows the cause. The author has spent a lot of time trying to ferret out the answer to why one of her two sons is an addict and the other is not. She now spends her time learning about how best to support Jeff through his recovery. Jeff is 31 years old, and he is good today--sober and productive after 14 years of harrowing addiction. In this article, the author discusses addiction in two ways: first, the story of her son's addiction and, second, her reflections--as a former head of school for 17 years--about what independent schools might do better to confront drug use, educate the students, and support families. She offers her story and the wisdom born out of pain.