Melissa Etheridge found some ‘peace’ after son’s death
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Melissa Etheridge has found a “small amount of peace” knowing her late son is no longer “in pain”.
The 59-year-old singer was left devastated when 21-year-old Beckett died from an opioid overdose in May but she has taken comfort in the fact her son is finally free of his addiction.
And Melissa – who had Beckett and Bailey, 23, with ex-wife Julie Cypher and twins Johnnie and Miller, 13, with spouse Tammy Lynn Michaels – has also sought solace in the rest of her family.
Speaking on ‘Today’, she said: “Our family is very, very close, and the strength comes from the love from the rest of us.
“I’m not alone in this nation of families who have lost loved ones to opioid addiction. It was a long journey.
“In the end, there’s a small amount of peace knowing he’s not in pain anymore.
“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.”
The singer recently launched The Etheridge Foundation to support research into the causes and effects of opioid addiction and she admitted pouring her efforts into the organisation has also helped her to “heal”.
She said: “This is an epidemic. We lose over 150,000 people a year to opioid addiction.
“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.
“We really want to move to the forefront of things that can help with opioid addiction.”