This is a very powerful letter in Rolling Stone that’s being shared everywhere today. Addiction reaches far and wide, touching almost every family in one way or another.
Mary Forsberg Weiland was once married to former Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland who died last week after years of drug use and absence from their two children’s lives.
“Don’t glorify this tragedy with rock and roll,” she says.
“We don’t want to downplay Scott’s amazing talent, presence or his ability to light up any stage with brilliant electricity. So many people have been gracious enough to praise his gift. The music is here to stay. But at some point, someone needs to step up and point out that yes, this will happen again – because as a society we almost encourage it. We read awful show reviews, watch videos of artists falling down, unable to recall their lyrics streaming on a teleprompter just a few feet away. And then we click “add to cart” because what actually belongs in a hospital is now considered art.”
Read the entire letter here.
A death resulting in large part from years of drug use may be the tragic end to a life, but she nails it: the death happens years prior. I relate to her story in the sense that my brother’s physical death from drugs was an expected ending after years of heart wrenching addiction. We lost him years before. My condolences to Mary and her children for what she calls their ‘’loss of hope.”
