Lina Lisetta - Living With the Little Devil Man

Was Sterling just another soul lost to heroin addiction, or can his story give us some answers as to why so many people succumb? Sterling was plagued by the little devil man, and heroin saved him from that reality so many times. Most people arent plagued by creatures, but what are they plagued by? What reality are they escaping? What misfortune did heroin save them from?

We all want to escape from something. Unfortunately, heroin is too close at hand for far too many. The momentary escape, always leaving them with the need for more, every time. Perhaps, Sterlings story will give us some of the answers we seek. One thing is for certain, his story tells us how to love better. Not to love the addiction, but to love the person behind the addiction.

At first, I didnt want to write this book, but then I remembered all the times Sterling asked me to write his story. He would say, Johnny Depp will play me in the movie. Im going to be a millionaire. I dedicate this book not only to Sterling, but to all his brothers and sisters out there who suffer from addiction. In the end, he wasnt able to donate his organs, but today he gives you his heart. Send him back yours and let him be that millionaire.

Lina Lisetta has her doctorate in Child and Family Studies from the University of Massachusetts. She works at a small New England college where she teaches research methods, but will be the first to tell you that real life experiences build our deepest knowledge. Lina is passionate about her project of filming individuals in recovery from addiction, to spread the word that there is light after the darkness. Lina resides with her husband of 34 years and her four dogs. Her favorite pastime is playing in the rain with her grandchildren.

Dedication

I dedicate this book to those who have suffered from addiction, the afflicted and their loved ones. I wish you peace and recovery.

Lina Lisetta

Living with the Little Devil Man

Copyright Lina Lisetta (2018)

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.

Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

Any resemblance to actual persons, dead or alive, or actual events is purely coincidental. Names of characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the authors imagination or used in a fictitious manner.

Ordering Information:

Quantity sales: special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address below.

Publishers cataloging in publishing data

Lisetta Lina

Living with the Little Devil Man

ISBN 9781641822718 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781641822701 (Hardback)

ISBN 9781645360292 (E-Book)

The main category of the book Young Adult Nonfiction / Biography & Autobiography / Women

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published (2018)

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd

40 Wall Street, 28th Floor

New York, NY 10005

USA

mail-usa@austinmacauley.com

+1 (646) 5125767

Acknowledgments

I wish to acknowledge all my spiritual guides, those on earth and those in heaven.

You have brought me to this point and have allowed me to be who I am. A very special thanks to my children, for opening their hearts to an injured soul. Without him, life would lack some of its meaning.

He came to me when he was already 19 years of age. I fell in love and made him my son. I told him I adopted him and he was mine. He was the greatest thing I ever lost. I wasnt able to then, but today I give him his dream.

Part I

Prologue

Sterling was tossing and turning again. It started like it usually did, with him remembering the drowning. He relived it each time. It just kept coming back to him and wouldnt stop once it began

It all started off being such a happy day. He and his family were staying at a motel, on their way back to Grandma Betsies house. Dad was finally going to be with them for a while, instead of putting on his blue uniform and going away.

The motel was special. It had a pool, and Sterling couldnt wait to go in the pool. He remembered that it was the way the water seemed to sparkle, to shimmer, that called to him. What 5-year-old wouldnt be tempted? He wanted to know what the crisp, clean sparkle of water felt like around his body. No one was watching him as usual. His mom and dad were even being nice to each other. His baby brother slept in the lounge chair next to his mom. When he first looked back, his mom and dad started kissing. He kept looking back and noticed that they were kissing funny, like he had never seen before. Dad was holding Moms head, like he had to keep her from moving away, but Mom kept pushing toward Dad, trying to get even closer. This time, he knew they werent mad at each other. Things were good. They were going to be even better when he got in that water.

Sterling had watched a couple of ladies going into the pool and enjoying a swim. He was tougher than those ladies. He wasnt going to walk down the stairs like those scaredy-cat ladies did, but he was going to float around the water just like they did. If those scaredy-cat ladies could do it, so could he. He saw the ladies climb up a ladder on the other side of the pool when they got out. He was going to climb down that ladder. He liked to climb and he climbed his dads ladder before, so he knew it was easy. The scaredy-cat ladies had gone to sit in their chairs, and he could have the water all to himself. He climbed down that ladder, and he was in bliss.

The water felt so good, swirling all around his body. He swished his arms around himself to make the water move. As the water moved, it moved him away from the ladder. He was floating like the ladies! He didnt want to call out to his mom and dad. They might make him get out. They might get mad at him again, because he was bothering them when they were kissing.

Suddenly, he got scared. He didnt know what went wrong, the swishing wasnt working the same. His head kept going under water. He would swish and be floating, and then the water would cover his head for longer and longer. He could only breathe when his head wasnt covered with water. How did the scaredy-cat ladies breathe when they went underwater? He saw them do it.

How hard could it be? he wondered. He tried opening his mouth underwater to breathe, and it was like he was choking. Suddenly, it felt as if the water tricked him. It was no longer a beautiful sparkling thing, but something ugly and dark. It kept swirling around his head, and he couldnt see the sun anymore. He couldnt see his mom and dad kissing anymore.

It hurt! The water was hurting him. His chest felt like it was going to explode, like the firecrackers his dad lit on the Fourth of July. Sterling wanted to light the firecrackers too, but his dad said it was dangerous. Now he knew how dangerous it was. It felt like the firecracker was going off in his body. His head hurt too. It was like someone was squeezing his head. He just wanted it to go away. It seemed to go on forever, and then it just stopped.

At first, he thought he was floating on top of the water again. His whole body was floating, but there was no water. He was floating in air. Air that was so soft, it seemed to wrap around his body, not just behind him, but all around. He couldnt remember anything feeling this good. He wanted it to stay like this forever. But it didnt.