In 2016, I lost my father to a battle with drugs. Here's what I wish I could say to him: Dear Dad, I’m sorry. When Keyshia Cole’s mother, Frankie Lons, passed away this week, I immediately thought of you. You, too, struggled with substance abuse for most of your life and like Cole, I was the child left to deal with the aftermath, time and time again. Most of my formative years were spent one of two ways: despising you for succumbing to rampant drug use that led you to abandon me or daydreaming of this whimsical, alternate reality where you were present in my life. As I’ve gotten older and wiser, I realize that so much of my life has been centered on my resentment towards you. Now, I realize I never gave you the grace you deserved. When I think of our relationship, I become consumed with conflict. I want to be angry at you for your absence in my life. But I also want to empathize with you because your struggle with addiction was never your fault. Both can be true. Oftentimes, when...
