Melissa Etheridge is taking life as it comes after her 21-year-old son Beckett passed away due to an opioid overdose earlier in the year.
In an interview on “Today With Hoda & Jenna” last Thursday, the singer, 59, revealed how “there’s a small amount of peace knowing he’s not in pain anymore.”
“Our family is very, very close, and the strength comes from the love from the rest of us,” Etheridge revealed. “I’m not alone in this nation of families who have lost loved ones to opioid addiction. It was a long journey.”
She went on, “Of course we miss him, but my wife and my three other children, we come together and we know he’s here in spirit. We do what we love and we love each other and come together, and you just do it one day at a time.”
Etheridge is married to Linda Wallem who share daughter Bailey, 23, and 13-year-old twins Johnnie Rose and Miller Steven. Bailey and Beckett’s biological father is music legend David Crosby.
Etheridge also announced she has started The Etheridge Foundation, which will support research into the reasons and effects of opioid addiction.
“This is an epidemic. We lose over 150,000 people a year to opioid addiction,” she said. “One thing that helped me heal was starting The Etheridge Foundation. We’re just starting it and it’s rolling out and it is a foundation to research alternatives. To get off of this track of pharmaceuticals for pain. It’s research to understand addiction.”
Last month, Etheridge spoke to Rolling Stone about Beckett’s struggles with drug addiction.
She went on to explain: “There were things out of my control, of course. And there came a time when I needed to really sit down with myself and say, ‘I can’t save him. I can’t give up my life and go try to live his life for him.’ And I had to come up against the possibility that he might die. But I had to be able to go on living.”
“Of course it’s nothing a parent ever wants. But as a human being, I just needed to be at peace with a troubled son who did the best he could, who believed what he believed and then his life ended way, way too soon.”
Mamas Uncut is THE online place for moms. We cover the latest about motherhood, parenting, and entertainment as well – all with a mom-focused twist. So if you're looking for parenting advice from real parents, we have plenty of it, all for moms from moms, and also experts. Because, at the end of the day, our mission is focused solely on empowering moms and moms-to-be with the knowledge and answers they’re looking for in one safe space.