Things have changed so fast and drastically that students today have been left unprepared for a challenging world presenting mental health and substance use disorder risks, from anxiety and depression to habitual alcohol and/or drug use -- and even worse, heightened risk of overdose and death by suicide. And, things have changed so fast and drastically that most parents don’t know what’s happening or what to do about it. David outlines the problem and shares valuable solutions.

What happens when you set out to fix someone else only to realize you are the one who needs correcting? David was concerned his oldest child, William, had growing alcohol and drug problem. He planned to counsel William over a three-day cross-country journey, extolling the virtues of good living. But on the trip, amplified by daunting elements, David faced his addiction. The lessons he shared with his son became an action plan to change his life. The result is dramatic.

Parents like to think they know what’s happening in students’ lives because they were young once. But it’s not that simple. In the age of social media, smartphone addiction, illegal substances sold in apps, and the proliferation of counterfeit pills, many laced with Fentanyl, everyone in the students’ ecosystem, especially parents, need more insight. Here’s what they should know.

David Magee says, "resilience is the salvaged soul’s most generous friend.” In other words, few investments pay more significant dividends than working through challenges and difficulties. It’s not easy, and tools are required. But, it’s how we get the most significant wins.

We got so busy fighting with ourselves politically that we forgot about what matters most: The children. After failed programs like “Just Say No” and D.A.R.E., our schools have been left without needed educational tools to prepare students for the unprecedented mental health and substance use disorder crisis they face. Families are hurting like never before, and that pain permeates all aspects of life, including the home and workplace. To create the needed change, we’ve got to get upstream – to the students.

They say family is at the root of our socialization and undoubtedly that’s true. But it’s therefore often at the root of both our joy, and pain. The Magee’s, a family of five, learned the hard way about hand-me-down pain, suffering great loss and damage, including overdose death, near overdose death, divorce, career loss, financial hardship, eating disorder and more. Yet they managed to fight back, with multiple members in recovery and a restored marriage, they found joy and success beyond anything they had imagined. It’s the rare family willing to take the stage together to talk publicly about how they became so broken, and healed. Meet the Magee’s – David, his wife Kent, daughter Mary Halley (eating disorder recovery), and son Hudson (more than a decade sober after being found dead by a fraternity house swimming pool and brought back to life).

Most of us have wondered what we are doing with our lives and why. David Magee lived that life, chasing success without a purpose, and even laughing, without true joy. Eventually, the hollowness dangerously expanded and his life, family and career were falling apart. Faith led the way in turning it all around – we humans, after all, are happiest when we believe in something bigger than ourselves -- and on that journey, for the first time, he found purpose. The result is a life of joy + purpose equaling a wellbeing that he had never known. He passionately shares the story that so many others can easily relate.

Becoming a better you, and improving the quality of life for those closest to you, may seem like an impossibility when you feel stuck in the middle of life, but it’s more easily done than most imagine. No matter the challenge – cancer, divorce, professional disappointment, substance use disorder, or all – a much brighter tomorrow is within reach.