NARRATOR: This program contains subject
matter and language that may be disturbing to some viewers.
Viewer discretion is advised.
[ominous music]
Being in a relationship is difficult enough.
Add to it addiction, and you have a perfect recipe
for a tornado to come that you're
not going to be able to stop.
[lighter flicks, hisses]
There's that old saying, misery loves company.
I can't see it being anything other than a nightmare.
The worst hell you have ever had in your entire life.
[tense music]
[inhales]
Couples in their addiction just tear each other apart.
You were done with that.
We were done with that, and you brought it back.
The dishonesty--
(bleep)
I'm going.
I'm done.
- The manipulation. - The fighting.
It's your fault!
--and the codependency is deep.
The only thing harder than fighting an addiction
is fighting codependency at the same time.
They're playing that dance of death,
and they're killing each other.
JOEY: Corinne and I first met when she came over to my house.
I don't know what happened, but we just started talking.
Like, and it just was really clicking.
JOEY: She doesn't just care with her heart.
She cares with her soul.
We are using methamphetamine.
CORINNE: I've had eight ODs.
Corinne's relationship with Joey
is the main thing that's making her stay addicted.
I mean, it's only a matter of time
before I end up in jail or dead.
Meth brings us together, and it rips us apart.
It's really hard to see her just lose everything.
We have to be very, very clear,
and all on the same exact page.
You have to accept this program.
Life [bleep] sucks when you're addicted.
I remember you as a happy, bright child.
I miss Joey, what he was, you know?
What we have, essentially, is like, this perfect storm.
And everybody has to sacrifice.
Hey, Dad.
Whoa.
Meth will steal your soul.
[somber music]
[water rushing]
CORINNE: It's so nice out here.
Like, it's so pretty.
Look at how cool the trees look.
My name is Joey.
I'm from Weaverville, California.
My name is Corinne.
I'm from Weaverville, California.
And we've been together about three years now.
JOEY: I love Weaverville.
It's a small, tight-knit community.
I think it's one of the most beautiful places in the world.
I feel like I can breathe here.
People would pay a lot of money just
to see these sights for a minute.
But it is hard to leave, and that could
be a good thing or a bad thing.
Look at.
JOEY: Corinne and I first met when she came over to my house.
He comes in.
He's like, oh, hey.
And I was like, oh, hi, you know?
And I don't know what happened, but we just started talking.
Like, and it just was really clicking.
Oh my god, that's so (bleep) cool-looking.
JOEY: [laughs]
CORINNE: It's like it came out of nowhere.
JOEY: It did. CORINNE: It did.
The first time I met her, honestly, I thought, she's
beautiful, and she's so sweet.
She doesn't just care with her heart.
She cares with her soul.
Ooh, that's a shock.
People like that, they wake you up.
They make you realize, like, exactly
where you're standing at, and like, what you're standing in.
CORINNE: Mm.
JOEY: I love you.
CORINNE: I love you.
This is so pretty.
Corinne is really intelligent and very giving.
But she needs to feel valued and accepted,
because she's emotionally fragile.
CORINNE: Don't tell me how to do it.
I'm going to try to remember what you told me.
JOEY: OK. CORINNE: OK.
JOEY: Nice.
Joey has the wisest soul, and the most childlike heart.
It's the perfect balance.
JOEY: You want to keep it as flat on the water
as you possibly can. CORINNE: All right.
I'll try, I'll try, I'll try, I'll try.
He encourages me, and it's amazing.
Ah, I did two!
There was two!
Two happened, though. JOEY: That was good.
That was awesome.
There's so much good coming from this
that we believe it's a forever thing.
JOEY: I love you.
CORINNE: Love you.
But a lot of people don't believe in us.
I can't support the relationship
between Joey and Corinne because it is a dual addiction.
He addicts to the person, and then if they're using,
he addicts to the substance.
We are using methamphetamine.
Yeah.
[ominous music]
Joey and I use about $200 a day, and we'll smoke all day.
I use meth because it distracts me.
It makes me not feel and think.
That first hit, there's a weight lifted off my shoulders.
It's a mental shutdown.
You lose yourself.
[dramatic music]
Normally I get meth by either trade, something I have,
tools, or helping out around the house.
CORINNE: I make money from internet modeling.
So I just took showers and recorded it,
and people paid 50 bucks every time.
It's not something that I ever really wanted to do.
It feels degrading, but it's easy cash.
I make about $900 a week.
I asked Joey if it was OK.
He said, absolutely, as long as I don't sleep with anybody.
Anything to get the drugs.
JOEY: I don't like that stuff.
It just-- it makes me feel rotten.
But I can't stop, because I fear the outcome.
How much am I going to like myself?
How much regret am I going to hold?
How much of this [bleep] am I actually
going to be able to deal with?
Because of Corinne's addiction,
she neglects her herself, her personal health.
Come down here.
Try this.
I get down to about 97 pounds, when I get real bad on drugs.
When she's on meth, she definitely looks tweaker-ish.
I'm just going to [bleep]--
I'm just going to smoke it like this, if that's OK.
I have scars all over my face from all the picking I did.
I get infections in my mouth.
I have lost one, two, three--
I've lost six teeth, I think.
Two of them, I had to pull myself.
It wears down your bones.
It takes a toll on your body.
I feel like a 70-year-old man when I wake up.
You never know when you're going to get something
laced in, like fentanyl.
There's a lot of overdoses here, especially with fentanyl.
I've had eight ODs, and that's because of the fentanyl.
Corinne ODed in a park bathroom, white
as a sheet, blue lips.
Took four Narcans to bring her back.
I almost feel like I've been expecting her
to die already, if I'm honest.
There's always a good chance it could be laced.
But we decided we didn't care, because it's
so hard to find now that we're going to do it anyway.
And it'll only get worse from there.
JENNIFER: I believe Corinne's relationship with Joey
is the main thing that's making her stay addicted.
The addiction and--
When we're using, we're toxic.
Meth brings us together, and it rips us apart.
When we get high, sometimes the fights are ridiculous.
JAMIE: It's just a terrible, vicious downward cycle that
they're trapped in right now.
And I've told both of them that meth will steal your soul.
[ominous music]
[tense music]
In. There you go.
CORINNE: OK.
JOEY: This is, uh, my daughter's room.
This is all my family's things, you know, my kids.
And this is what it [bleep] gets [bleep] turned into.
Joey and Corinne had been living there,
and Joey had a friend get in trouble,
and he allowed the friend to come stay.
At that point, Joey left to visit
his kids in another state.
During that time, the friend became a squatter.
He wouldn't leave.
Law enforcement wouldn't help because squatter
has a lot of rights.
Ultimately, it was Joey that left the home
and came to live with me.
Corinne's been staying with relatives of hers
while the squatter was evicted about a month ago.
[clattering]
These are people that I thought were friends.
Bad judgment.
And I get to pay for that for a long time.
There's so much work to do in here.
I'm looking at, like, another two months, probably three
months before I can actually, like,
be safe to have my kids here.
When my kids are home.
CORINNE: He needs to get his kids, and I need to get mine.
And then once we get our kids, then we can integrate,
and then we can all just have a happy life
and be sober doing it.
So that's my dream.
And I know it's his, too.
If I wasn't doing drugs, this-- none
of this would have happened.
None of this would have [bleep] happened.
I absolutely love my brother, and I want him to do good.
But it's hard for me to wrap my head around where
he is in life right now.
[somber music]
I'm the fourth-born of five kids.
I've got three older brothers, one little sister.
We grew up here in Weaverville.
Growing up, we didn't have a lot.
It was kind of payday-to-payday thing.
You know, the cabinets were empty.
The water would be shut off, or the electricity
would be shut off.
It was hard.
My dad was always working, logging out in the woods
or working at sawmills.
And when he was home, he was drinking or--
My mom was amazing, but her and my dad would fight a lot.
And uh, she took a lot of hits for us, that's for damn sure.
My dad was always a brawler.
Pretty aggressive.
My dad wasn't evil.
He was just, uh, high.
You just kind of stayed clear of Dad when he got that way.
Mom took care of us when we were growing up,
working long hours.
I always wanted to be a teacher or a counselor.
But when I was 15 years old, I dropped out of high school
and started logging to help pay for bills and stuff
to keep our place.
On the crew I was logging with, I
think I was the only sober one.
But everybody else was using, uh, meth pretty heavily.
I worked there for seven years.
When I was 23, I had gotten married.
I'd known her for a long time.
She was awesome, really awesome.
We were married for, uh, two years,
and come to find out she'd been cheating on me for a long time.
And uh, I had no idea.
We got divorced after that.
It was a surprise.
Nobody was expecting it.
I'm sure it wasn't easy on him.
A little while after that, 2012, me and my girlfriend
got together.
We'd known each other since we were really young.
We'd been together a year and one day,
and then, uh, our son was born.
[gentle music]
They ended up taking off and going to Oregon,
I think, to try to do better.
I was working at the mining claim up there,
and uh, it was hard work.
She worked night shift.
We were fighting at the time.
I was working long hours, and uh, there were
days where I could barely move.
You don't have time to be tired.
You don't have time to be weak.
You have to just get your job done.
Everybody else was using, uh, meth pretty heavily.
In my mind, it felt like this was going to fix things for me.
Um, I'd have more energy.
That was the first time I tried meth.
[ominous music]
It was the grossest feeling I've ever felt in my life.
It's just a gritty, ugly, nasty feeling.
I was so ashamed of myself, but I continued to use because I
was working my ass off.
I was burnt out.
I felt like it would help me at work.
But things got bad really fast, then the more excuses I made,
the worse it got.
I got fired from my job.
We were evicted from our house.
There was nothing left in Oregon for us.
She took the kids and went to Texas,
and one day we just got a call from Joey.
And he said, I'm coming back.
He didn't look good.
I was like, 140 pounds, and no money.
I said, something's going on.
But he kind of just pushed it off.
I was so lost without my kids.
Then, like, a month after that, my dad died.
Joey and Mom were always really close.
So he took it real hard.
Joey was devastated by his mom passing.
He was depressed and laying in his bed for days at a time.
Since then, he's been trapped in this dark, terrible, sad place.
And now with the relationship with Corinne,
sharing addictions, and then putting themselves
in dangerous situations, he could end up in jail or prison
or dead from just the whole paradigm
that he's existing in right now.
[clattering]
I know he wants to do good and do better
and get his kids back, but--
JOEY: OK.
--nothing really ever changes with Joey, it seems like.
[ominous music]
He's stuck in where he's at.
It's always the same story with getting his place cleaned
up and ready for the kids.
And he just keeps using, and nothing gets fixed.
You can put on as many masks as you want to,
but underneath it, it's still all the same truth.
We're not helping each other get sober.
We're sitting here spinning our wheels, and we can't stop.
So for us, everything is at stake.
[dramatic music]
[gentle music]
[phone ringing]
JOEY: (ON VOICEMAIL) This is Joey.
Sorry I missed your call.
Leave a message, and I will get back to you.
CORINNE: Hey, Joey.
I hope you get this and listen to it.
I locked myself out. But that's okay, I have all my stuff.
Let me know what's going on.
Because yeah.
I love you.
My ex was calling me, and he's just been really
raunchy, perverted with me.
And he said, I bought something for you.
Well, it's for us, and we can use it if you ever come over.
I said, I have a boyfriend.
It makes me uncomfortable when you
talk to me like that, especially when I'm on Bluetooth.
And then Joey goes, why don't you just
use whatever gift he got you?
And then he walked off and left me,
and he didn't even look at me.
Can't believe he left?
[phone rings]
When he gets to up to here, that's what happens every time.
He gets jealous and insecure, and he
thinks that something's going on between me and any guy,
you know?
[gentle music]
JOEY: Yes, please.
My godfather Jaime is way smarter than I am,
and he makes way better choices than I do.
But I'm a stubborn guy, and if I'm having a problem,
I'd rather just hide out and-- and be alone, and he's there.
And uh-- and I think at those times
is when I need it the most.
I've been a therapist for over 30 years now,
and I try really hard to step out of the therapist's role,
but I can't help but have that as a part of me now.
So when you picked me up, right,
basically I was listening in to her conversation,
and I heard her ex saying that, uh,
he had a present that he was going to use on her,
and um, it was like, sexually-type thing, you know?
And uh, I just opened up the door and looked at her,
and I turned around and grabbed my stuff and walked away.
I know that you both really care about each other.
But at the same time, you have to see
that in the last few months, you guys have sort of repeatedly
pulled each other down at different times,
you know, back into a cycle.
I understand what you're saying.
But at the same time, it's like, what if I'm healing with her?
Maybe we're not quite there yet.
But I mean, like, I feel better when she's around.
You love each other, and you guys have these great times,
but then you have these horrific painful moments.
I mean, you were really broken last night
from everything that happened.
And this is part of where this relationship is so convoluted.
You guys can be really good for each other,
and then you can be really toxic for each other.
True?
Yeah.
JAMIE: OK.
They love each other, but can be each other's downfall.
And so because of everything that's gone on,
they need to be apart.
Joey and Corinne need to be apart.
It's probably painful to hear, but I'm
hoping that you both spend some time focusing on yourselves.
Because at the end of the day, no matter
how much you guys care about each other,
the drug screws everything up.
[gentle music]
[birds chirping]
I got this from my storage today, so we can organize--
OK.
--some of it.
So buy that one from Cabela's.
When Joey and I fight, I stay with my uncle.
I can feel the deep nerves.
If you dug the thing in, you'd probably--
I'd probably feel it. - Deep nerves.
So what level of the skin is that, Uncle?
It's under all the subcutaneous.
Mm-hmm. That's right.
Good job.
You win that one, Jeopardy.
Corinne helps me with changing my bandage on my foot, uh,
twice a day.
It was a hunting accident, and without her,
I would be struggling.
Start with the fight thing, because we might as well
just get that out of the way.
You guys got in a fight last night?
About last night, yep. And think it's just because--
I called him two times, though.
Three times.
He's probably ignoring me on purpose, because he wrote me
messages that were about his feelings and stuff,
and I ignored them.
And I can't talk to him about it, because he won't answer.
All these relationships, have you just,
like, sat with your mom and one-on-one and talked to her?
Because she's been through some bad ones, too.
CORINNE: Right.
I mean, and she could probably relate.
Those-- like, if she said, I can relate,
or like, I understand, you know, those are
good words I'd like to hear.
Because I know you do.
I-- I am relating right now.
I know, but I need you--
never mind.
JENNIFER: She's starving for approval.
Her self-esteem has been run into the dust
because of the drugs.
Corinne has so much potential.
It's really hard to see her just lose
everything because of the decisions that she's making.
Corinne was born in Weaverville, California.
[children yelling]
She was always bright, and she was always happy.
My brother Cairo was born three years later.
We would go to the swimming hole.
We would, you know, play board games.
I was really close with her.
After her brother came, when I was 24,
I left Corinne's father because he was
cheating on me with a [bleep].
My brother was five and I was eight.
It was so hard on me and my brother.
I was going to college, and then I
worked at the elementary school in the morning.
But because of the stress of everything,
I had started drinking a lot.
It was just hard.
We had to sit there and watch my mom struggle with addiction.
I would hold her hair because she was throwing up.
I tried to be a good mother.
But addiction is tough, you know?
So they got themselves up.
She did her own schoolwork.
I loved school, because everyone at school
was different. Teachers were different.
It was a different environment.
Corinne was very involved in everything.
She was also a mentor at the teen center.
She was very interested in what you had to say.
In fact, she would always put more
interest in the person she's talking
to than ever in herself.
Everything was going good.
Corinne was doing great.
But Weaverville is kind of a center of meth use.
My friends mom was one of the biggest meth dealers
in Weaverville, so my first time trying
it was with my best friend.
And I was like, 14.
And I said, you know what?
I want to know what the fuss is about.
And then I did it.
It hurt.
And then I felt it.
And I was like, oh, I get it.
And then I think about maybe 24 hours later,
I felt the worst feelings I've ever felt in my life.
And I said, is this normal?
And she's like, yeah.
That's how it is every time.
I was like, how do you make it go away?
She's like, you do more.
But I did not get addicted that day.
When Corinne was a teenager, she
had been dating a boy her age.
But then she got talking to his older
brother, who was in the Navy.
And when he came back to California,
he started dating Corinne.
I called the police a couple of times,
but she was sneaking out to go see him, and--
I was 14 and dumb.
Didn't even really know him, but I thought I loved this guy.
Her boyfriend went to Utah to get another job
and got in a car accident.
He was driving and hit a coyote, and went off the road
and he broke his neck and, um, died.
And it was devastating.
It was devastating.
Her boyfriend passed away before we even
knew that Corinne was pregnant.
She had a big choice at a very early
age to decide to have that child or not,
which she decided to do.
I was the only pregnant person in that school,
and the bigger I got, the more embarrassed I got.
I felt like a slut, and people were calling me a slut.
What got me the most was my-- one of my favorite teachers
said, put him up for adoption.
You won't be able to take care of him.
You won't go to college.
And I just said, watch me.
I was 16 when I had my son, so I worked really hard.
I graduated two years early with honors, with scholarships.
I got accepted to Berkeley, San Luis Obispo.
But I chose Humboldt State University,
because I wanted to be closer to home
and because I just liked the vibe of the place.
I had just turned 17 when I went to college.
My mom watched my son because I was
very busy at the health center, because I
wanted to do healthcare.
I got the medical assistant position at the healthcare
center on campus.
And I also had another full-time job,
which was working at an animal foundation
across the street from my apartment.
And I was a full-time student as well.
I wanted to be a nurse.
I wanted to help people, so I got into the healthcare field.
I loved it.
What happened after that was the most unfortunate thing.
They were cutting the nursing program because of budget cuts.
They announced that 1,000 students
were going to be randomly selected
to lose their work study.
I opened my mailbox one day, and I had a red little--
and it said, we're sorry to inform you,
but you have been selected.
And from that day forward, I lost
my job at the animal foundation, at the healthcare center.
I couldn't pay my rent.
I couldn't afford my books.
And I gave up immediately.
I didn't even drop out properly.
I'm on academic probation still.
She was so confident with school and college,
and then what happened was pretty devastating for her.
After that, she lost her self-esteem and her self-worth.
I was in shock, you know?
And I started partying.
Corinne fell in with the lesser crowds
around her, you know, and just started using
and acting out of control.
My drug of choice was methamphetamines.
It really helps you forget and not feel.
It sounds crazy, but I hate meth.
Meth took every relationship, every good one.
And then it took my son.
[sighs]
Corinne's son, he got tired of everything,
and a few years ago, he ended up calling CPS for himself.
That's how bad it got.
He just couldn't take it anymore.
My son is in Florida with my brother.
My brother is a great influence.
I used to always think that she was someone that didn't get
knocked down, you know, kept trying no matter
how much was thrown at her.
But I guess eventually something gave.
I worked so hard, and you can lose everything so fast.
And then you wake up after it's over, and you go,
what the hell happened?
That wasn't me.
But it was.
I think she tries very, very hard to be a good mother,
but I really don't understand how Corinne
could have let it get this bad.
[ominous music]
I do normal people things, but--
[dramatic music]
[hissing]
I use meth because I feel like I deserve to do meth.
Like, there's lawyers and stuff, and then there's me,
and me does meth.
I just feel like it's just what I deserve.
[exhales]
[somber music]
Trying to get a hi.
Honestly, I feel like I got kicked in the face, right?
Corinne's ex saying this type of stuff
to her, that's pretty serious, you know?
And like, I have to sit in it for a minute,
because my initial reaction, my initial instinct, is like,
she just wants this to be over with.
And when you're coming down, that's when your emotions
are really [bleep] up.
The only real solid ground you have is when you're using.
I'm looking through these contacts in my phone
and there's all these, like, wannabe dealers,
but nobody is answering.
Lately it's been really dry.
It's been actually pretty hard.
Like, my go-to is gone.
It just makes you waste your time hunting it down.
And there's a lot of overdoses here, especially with fentanyl.
I have a tester to see if there's fentanyl in it,
and damn near every time there's fentanyl in it.
[trills lips]
Yeah.
Yeah, it's-- it's not that easy just to turn it away, you know?
And it's stupid.
It's so [bleep] dumb.
And yet you still smoke it, or you still do it.
Joey?
[knocks]
Because lately he's been a little bit,
like, unsure if, like, I love him.
Joey.
JOEY: Hey.
Hey.
I come bearing gifts.
- You want to sit down? - Yeah.
When it comes to, like, how I respond to something,
I take things wrong a lot because using
drugs messes up your intuition.
It messes up all that stuff.
But if I was sober and she was sober,
it would have been resolved within minutes, instead
of me just walking away.
I do?
Yeah.
I thought it was going to be sunny today.
It's wonton soup.
Thank you.
CORINNE: How are you?
What's up?
JOEY: I'm doing all right.
You're lying.
No, I'm-- I'm good.
My trust issues with Joey is I just feel like he's always
hiding a problem from me, and he's
never completely honest about how he feels about us.
I'm better today than I was yesterday.
Oh, yeah?
It wasn't fair of me to just walk out like that.
I should have talked to you.
I should have just heard you out, you know?
You want somebody that's going to fight for you, right?
Yes.
Yeah, I'm-- I'm there.
Because ultimately, it's up to you.
Either you want to be with me or you don't, right?
And if you do, then you're going to shut that [bleep] down.
OK.
I already know what I want.
And I've already shut it down.
Yeah.
I believe you.
I love you.
Come here.
I love you.
But he realizes things and he apologizes about every time
he needs to, you know?
So it felt good for him to say that.
Uh, what are we going to do?
So the plan is to go meet somebody at the gas station.
I'm going to pay for her gas, get something.
JOEY: One problem down, another one to go.
[ominous music]
If you're doing meth and other people are doing meth,
then you just kind of find out where the meth is
and you go there.
Weaverville is kind of a center of meth use.
And now we're having the fentanyl problems trickling in.
I don't think that Weaverville itself
is a bad place, because I know that everywhere
has drug dealers.
There's been times where when I went out to get meth,
it got really serious, and it got really bad.
I was shot at.
I've been shot before.
I've had to shoot at other people before.
You're used to things going a certain way.
But that one time gets a little sideways, and uh, next thing
you know, you're either ruining somebody's life
or your life is being ruined.
[dramatic music]
CASHIER: OK.
[beeps]
In the chase of the drug, Joey and Corinne put themselves
in such dangerous situations.
JOEY: What the [bleep]?
JOEY: Damn it.
And I fear losing Joey either to the addiction,
or the craziness that can ensue with the lifestyle
that they're living.
JOEY: Thanks, dude.
JOEY: Be careful.
My life is complicated.
I look like my life is OK.
My Facebook looks OK, you know?
And all that time could have been spent working
towards getting him back.
[gentle music]
[clattering]
Yeah.
JOEY: Set up the tent? CORINNE: We probably should.
All right. Good idea.
Corinne lives at Joey's house on and off.
I think that they see a safe person in each other.
Joey is really poetic and sincere, and Corinne is too.
Oh.
OK, ready?
CORINNE: I think so.
Do you want me to tie it, or no?
JOEY: Uh, yeah, please.
OK.
You get the blankets, I'll get the pillows, OK?
It's like a [bleep] game.
I already won. - No, you didn't.
[grunts] [bleep]
(LAUGHING) You're gonna break it.
Corinne and I do a lot of good for one another.
We pick each other up when we're down,
and we're there for each other.
Always there.
[gentle music]
I looked him in the eyes and I said, I love you so much.
I think there's something special about you,
and it's golden, and it's good.
And I don't care if nobody else can see you.
I don't care, you know?
Because I see it.
[both laughing]
- Do it again. - One more time.
- OK. - [sniffs]
No, no, no. You didn't do it right.
But I wasn't checking him out, you know?
It just-- something was--
Yeah, she was.
No.
[laughs]
JENNIFER: When Corinne started to see Joey,
I had no idea what she was doing.
I knew that he was using meth, because it's
a small town and people talk.
But she hid their relationship pretty well.
I moved back in with my mom.
I texted him and I said, hey, are you able to come over?
And he's like, yeah, sure.
And I said, OK.
Do you want to hop through the window?
Because it was really late at night.
And he's like, yes.
So he jumped in through the window.
And that's when I knew I liked him.
Close the door, turn the fan on.
And uh, um, then we started talking.
And he's got this childlike heart, but an old soul,
and I love that mixture.
And then he hopped out the window and left.
It was our second official date
that we first used together.
I've struggled a lot with the relationship
between Joey and Corinne.
Corinne stayed at our house for weeks,
and I just saw both of them sort of freezing and hibernating
and really toxic.
So I did make a decision that it wasn't OK for Corinne
to stay at the house anymore.
BRENDAN: I've seen Joey go off on Corinne.
My personal opinion of their relationship
is that she is under his thumb, and-- and he has
that feeling of losing control.
So he gets confrontational.
And it complicates things because there's
trust issues between the both of us, and Joey is vulnerable.
And so I'm worried that he's going to say,
this sucks, and bounce.
Because he's a runner.
They use each other as a distraction from their pain.
And I think without the meth use, they-- they don't
have something to hold on to.
Yes.
Yeah, absolutely.
I like Joey and their relationship.
But honestly, I don't know if Corinne would be using
as much if it wasn't for Joey.
She doesn't have any income, so Corinne
wouldn't be able to afford it.
And I don't know how Joey gets it, because he
doesn't have a job either.
I don't think it's good for them to be together.
They both have so much going on, trying to get their kids
and get their lives together and kick a habit, which
I hope they both want to do.
I'm looking for help, because I've tried everything already.
I have utilized every single resource
in this town and outside of this town
that my insurance will cover.
But that's actually a big fear of mine.
I am very scared that one of us is going to get sober
and the other is not.
If I'm that sober one and he's not, I can't be around him.
I can't.
We can't do that to each other.
We wouldn't do that to each other.
[lighter flicks, hisses]
CORINNE: [coughs] Your turn.
How bad do you want it?
Nice.
How bad do you want it?
Don't you burn me with that.
Thank you so much.
[hissing]
CORINNE: My living hell is I know I'm hurting people.
I know what to do to fix it.
I just don't know how to start, because I feel hopeless
and I have no control over myself.
And that's his problem too.
JOEY: Before, I literally had this attitude where I was
just like, I just need my kids.
I do believe I can get clean.
But I had my kids before, and I'm still in this situation,
so there's something more to it.
[hissing]
[tense music]
ZACH: So what have we got going on here with Joey and Corinne?
Let's see.
Joey is 36 and Corinne is 30.
They've been dating for three years.
Joey met Corinne while she was babysitting his kids.
OK.
Both use meth, an 8-ball every two days.
OK.
And we're talking combined between both?
AMANDA: Combined, yes. - Gotcha.
Joey's brothers don't speak to him.
Corinne has an estranged relationship
with her 26-year-old brother Cairo, who currently has
her 15-year-old son in Florida.
They get shame from both families,
and we know that shame and guilt perpetuates addiction.
ZACH: Exactly.
You know, rather than face their demons,
they're going to use more and more and more.
Exactly.
To me, it's kind of a no-brainer why they clicked up
the way that they did, because they both had
this upward trajectory.
Like, they both were making a really honest effort.
They both wanted to do something different than what
they grew up in, and ultimately landed right back in it.
AMANDA: Yeah.
I mean, it was the perfect pairing.
But ultimately, it's killing them, and taking them away
from their goals in life, which is reuniting
their family and their kids.
That'll never happen on meth.
Our biggest challenge with Joey and Corinne
is they believe that they're on this trajectory
to bring their children and unite them back as a family.
They have it backwards.
First you need to become sober and stable.
And then you can work towards getting
things back in your life.
The white picket fence dream.
Once I get this-- - Exactly.
--then I'll stop using the drugs,
and it doesn't work like that. - Man.
That just makes me want to help even more and more and more.
Being in a relationship with a partner who's using,
and now you have two people using in one relationship--
I mean, it's a lot like starting a fire
and just throwing a can of diesel on it.
It can be deadly.
This is going to be a good case.
There's hope here.
AMANDA: Yeah, there's a lot of hope.
JAMIE: Hi. ZACH: Hi.
How are you? AMANDA: Oh, hi.
How are you? - Good.
I'm Jaime. - Hi, Jaime.
Amanda Marino.
A-- Amanda?
- Amanda Marino. - Nice to meet you.
- Zach Livingston.
- Nice to meet you. - Pleasure.
Come on in.
It's important to meet with loved ones,
because right now we only have so many pieces of the puzzle.
So I need all the information I can get,
and we're going to start with Jaime.
Thank you for being willing to meet with us.
JAMIE: Oh, my pleasure. - We really appreciate it.
You know, right now with Joey, like, we--
we have all these pieces, but we have gaps.
So I'm hoping that you can help us with that as best you can.
Right.
I feel like Joey has been pretty honest with me about him,
but he's very protective about Corinne.
How often do you see Joey?
Joey lives with me at this point.
Oh, he lives with you right now?
Joey moved in here a few months ago.
He had a very close male friend that was in trouble,
and he let him move into his home for what
was supposed to be a few days.
And this is your property, correct?
JAMIE: Yes. - OK.
Yes.
And so Joey's been here while we went through
this horrific eviction process.
And so did you know when Joey was living
there that he was using meth?
Like, did you know, giving him this space to live in,
that he was going to be using drugs there?
No.
I-- I haven't said, you have to be clean.
Because in the original lease, that
wasn't a piece of any of it.
But what I have said is, you have to be functional.
To me, it sounds real clear, like,
what the exact parameters are going to be in the future,
as it pertains to leasing him a property and things like that.
But if he's living here now, what
are the current parameters?
The parameters here are, he's not under the influence here.
If he uses here or brings it on the property,
he's not staying here anymore.
But he is using daily, though.
The two of them are using close to an 8-ball a day of meth.
And he's able to appear clean, so--
OK.
Where's the line, though?
We know he's using regularly--
JAMIE: Right.
--throughout the week.
So we know him coming here, he may
not be high while he's here, but he was high shortly before.
I wonder if Joey's just really crafty and really manipulative.
It sounds like Joey's really crafty.
Because I can't-- it's hard for me to believe that
he's been here this long, and that
him and Corinne weren't using.
Like, that's hard for me to believe.
It's also very hard for me to understand and believe
how he would be using the frequency and the quantities
that he is currently, and still coming here.
I'm not happy about him using elsewhere and still coming
back here, on some levels.
But if he can come in and appear clean to me, a trained--
I mean, I am a trained professional--
AMANDA: Right.
--then I'm going to sort of tolerate that.
ZACH: Any and all enabling behavior
provides a soft landing.
All that does is allow the addict to have
a deeper and deeper bottom.
A lot of this on the intervention
is a lot of education so that there are no open doors
to go through, so that they can demand a change,
and demand change now.
AMANDA: I can tell you have a heart of gold,
but I question if some of the things that you're doing
are actually keeping him able to do all the things.
JAMIE: Agreed.
Because right now, why would he need to stop?
He has the emotional support.
He's fed, he's loved.
He has this beautiful place to stay.
So he doesn't have a reason right now to stop.
I think the intervention is effective for certain folk,
and I think it's not effective for other folk.
So I don't know that we're going to agree on everything
at the end of the day.
For Joey to get better, I'm going to need Jamie to stop
providing soft landings.
It's time to let Joey be a man and handle any consequences
that come from his decision.
That house has to go if we want him to do something different.
[lighter flicks, hisses]
Because right now, that's his safe haven.
[somber music]
CORINNE: I do say that a lot out loud.
I'm like, home sweet home.
JOEY: Yeah, I know.
It's sad.
[creaking, rattling]
The storage unit is, uh--
it's more than just a place that I used.
I lived in there, sometimes.
I shot up in there.
I've brought those scary drug dealers
in there to help me shoot up when I couldn't find a vein.
Everything I own is in that storage unit.
In a perfect world, I would love to put
it out of here and into a home.
I mean, obviously I don't have furniture
because I got rid of it all, because it didn't
make sense to have it anymore.
JOEY: It makes me feel sad every time I'm here because it's
a constant reminder, you know, that she
had to go through something like this on her own.
And every time she comes here, she acts different.
Like, you can tell this is deep to her, you know?
But I hope to change it.
[groans] There are lots of memories in there that I
choose not to look at, really.
Hey, my laundry detergent's in here.
That's cool.
I was wondering why you put that in there.
How come you put your stuff in here?
I actually wanted to ask you that.
Because I trust you.
I know it's going to stay safe in here.
Aw.
Seriously, thank you.
That's your mom's stuff.
She's even got some of my mom's stuff in there,
and that she's held for me.
CORINNE: That's your mom, huh?
Yeah, that's my mom.
Aw.
JOEY: She's so awesome.
Me and my mom were really, really close.
I spent a lot of time with my mom,
and uh, she never judged me.
She would just hug me, and I would know--
I would know things were going to be OK.
My mom died two months ago.
Um, I go back through my phone and I read the texts from her,
you know, just asking me to come over for dinner.
All that time wasted on getting high,
I could've spent it with her.
Yeah.
Miss her.
CORINNE: Are you OK?
Yeah, I'm good.
About living with Joey, I don't care where we live.
I just hope that we're together and living together someday
soon, healthy, sober, and in the whatever future,
with our children in our lives.
That's literally my goal.
And it's a reasonably good goal.
[creaking, rattling]
[inhaling]
JOEY: I love you.
CORINNE: I love you.
This is so pretty.
Joey is 36 and Corinne is 30.
They've been using about an 8-ball of meth a day.
They believe that they're functional.
[groans]
They're also delusional that they're
on this trajectory to bring their children
and unite them back as a family.
Being in a relationship with a partner who's also using,
it's a lot like starting a fire and just
throwing a can of diesel on it.
It can be deadly.
[tense music]
Thank you so much for taking the time to meet with me today,
and for participating in this.
I'm meeting with Corinne's mother
Jennifer today to understand what she's been through,
what her relationship is like today,
and how it's been over the past few years
with Corinne, as the one that gets all
the blame from her daughter.
How are you doing?
JENNIFER: Um, I'm doing OK.
OK.
So oftentimes, a lot of these things,
you know, addiction, mental health, trauma,
they're generational, right?
Mm-hmm.
Um, were you ever addicted to substances?
I was never really addicted to anything until I was 26.
I started drinking.
So do you drink today, or are you sober today?
Um, no, I don't drink.
OK.
Has Corinne ever blamed you for being
on the path that she's on?
She has blamed me for pretty much everything.
What does she specifically blame you for?
Her being fatherless.
Um, a string of bad boyfriends, and the abuse
that she suffered from them.
My mom had a boyfriend of five years in her--
at her apartment, and uh, he would babysit us while she was
off at college or something.
And he would lock us in the closet all day.
And he never hurt me, but he-- he
beat my five-year-old brother.
Beat him.
One time he made him lay on the ground,
and he threw a dictionary on his back.
I-- I remember that day very-- he made me watch.
He said, stand here, and he threw it on my brother's back.
And I thought he killed my brother,
because my brother went-- because he was in shock,
you know?
And I started to cry.
And he said, don't be a [bleep] like your brother.
JENNIFER: I am pretty naive, and I miss a lot of things.
Like, I always try and think of everybody as good,
and so I really don't see a lot of bad.
I realized that he was abusing my mom, too.
He used to throw her in our room and lock her in there with us,
say, be with your [bleep] kids.
It's kind of hard for me to think
of the world as a bad place.
It's not good for my, um, mental health
to look for the bad in people.
CORINNE: I know she knew about the abuse that was happening,
but she didn't do anything about it
to protect us, because she knew that that was not OK.
And that's when I realized my mom
was selfish and absent, physically
and emotionally and mentally.
She definitely has been through quite a bit.
However, it does come a point where
you have to take some ownership and say, OK, I
don't want to do this to myself anymore
because of what happened to me.
But a big part, I know, for individuals
with trauma is-- is having, like, people
acknowledge what's happened to us.
Just--
I'm OK with being accountable for my actions.
OK.
And that's not saying that everything's your fault
or anything along those lines.
But if in her mind she can get some ownership from you,
like, I acknowledge that and I'm sorry for that, like,
that can go a really long way for someone
who's stuck in a vicious cycle.
I think that that could help her to seek the help she needs.
And then she can unravel everything
and realize, OK, well, my mom went through trauma, too.
My mom is a survivor.
You know, and can see you as a beacon of hope, you know?
Um, what do you think about Corinne
and Joey's relationship?
Um, I do like Joey.
And I think that if he got clean and they both got jobs,
they would be good together.
That's, like, all backwards, right?
You hate meth, but you know that your daughter does meth
with Joey, but you still like him.
He's caring for her, and he--
he alerts me when she's doing real bad.
And um, yeah.
I don't have to approve of the meth to like somebody.
They're showing care for each other,
but yet they're continually, you know,
engaging in each other's addiction,
which is actually harming one another
and killing one another.
Doesn't mean that either one of them are bad people.
Mm-hmm.
So I really appreciate you being open and being
willing to take some ownership, and for the healing
that you've done on yourself, because this
doesn't sound like it's been an easy journey
for you or for Corinne.
No.
I learned from Jennifer that she
has been through her own version of hell,
but she was willing to take some accountability.
But she's still willing to step up for her daughter
to get the help that she needs and take some ownership
for her part, which I think is extremely important,
because Corinne will continue to blame her mother
and continue to have that as a great valid excuse on why not
to get better or accept help.
It's time for her to take care of herself.
Yeah.
[gentle music]
[gravel crunching]
Hardly anybody knows that I come up here.
This is freedom up here.
I'm closer to the heavens, you know?
I'm closer to my mom.
When I'm up here, I can feel her all the time.
For a long time, I didn't want to share this place.
Like, I kept it a secret.
And sharing it with Corinne, that means a lot.
Want to sit down?
Yeah.
It's OK if I get dirty.
- It's OK if I-- - Criss-cross applesauce.
Oh, you've got your little leg hanging out, don't you?
[lighter flicks, hisses]
You have to hit it so many damn times.
I'm sorry, Joey.
JOEY: No, you're good.
[lighter flicks, hisses]
[somber music]
My addiction is pretty intense, especially
when I have to think about other things like my mom or my kids.
The question is, is how much do I feel like a failure?
Because that's pretty much how intense my drug addiction is.
And um, I feel like a failure all the time, so I
want to be high all the time.
And I know that Corinne feels the same way.
Do you like anything about it?
It helps distract, I guess.
Like, um-- when you're, like, really sad
or, like, when you're hurting, you know?
CORINNE: Yeah.
Inaction is my biggest fault. Knowing what I need to do,
but not doing it.
[hissing]
And I haven't put my kids first, and that's hard to deal with.
So when it gets too real, then you do what
you got to do to numb yourself.
[hissing]
You know, I asked that question to you,
and I'm trying to think if I like anything about it, but--
because I don't like hiding.
I don't like lying about it.
I feel so bad about myself that I
feel like I deserve this, especially when I
feel like nobody wants me.
But you know people want you.
Really?
Really.
I know it seems like it doesn't make sense.
[sighs] Because the things that we do,
they're toxic and not good for us.
But he helps me a lot.
But he did cheat on me once.
[dramatic music]
It hurts really bad.
I kind of feel a little low about myself.
But I don't think that just because someone is hurting
and they cheat on someone, doesn't
mean they don't love them.
But he won't admit it.
I ask myself, do I want to confront him right now,
or do I want to wait?
Because I really want him to get better more than
I want to be mad at him.
He needs this sobriety so bad, and I love him so much.
But--
[gentle music]
AMANDA: Today we're here for the pre-intervention for Corinne
and Joey, and we're bringing both families together
to create a united front.
Ultimately, what we want to do is just get everybody in line
so we can all carry the same messaging.
Tomorrow is not a bad day.
Like, even when they come in, like, it should be all smiles.
Like, this is a good thing.
Like, this is a day of hope.
AMANDA: The greatest act of love is to show up
for your loved one in this way.
It's a lot.
I mean, this is, like-- it's nerve-racking, kind of,
you know?
All this going on, and we all hope
for it to pan out and Joey to finally clean up,
and Corinne too.
But we want the best for both of them,
and we really hope this works.
I miss Joey. I mean, we all do.
Yeah.
What-- what he was, you know?
Mm-hmm.
He-- he was a great guy.
Who knew that-- that living a life of such chaos
is your comfort zone, you know?
Like, all of this, what we have,
essentially, is like this perfect storm.
Even within the relationship that they have with each other.
They have very similar backstories.
Yeah.
When we learned about, um, both Corinne and Joey, it was,
you know-- it touched my heart to see that both of them
had been through, you know, such severe trauma.
And both set out to have different lives for themselves,
and then both had certain situations that took them away
from that, and they ended up in the exact spot
they said they'd never be.
How are you doing, Jennifer?
I'm really grateful that you guys are willing to help her.
Corinne needs to stop hating herself,
and get over and accept and take accountability for the things
that she's done that make her hate herself.
Do you think that starts with tomorrow,
by her accepting treatment?
Yes.
And I think she's already tried to start
to heal from the trauma that I caused, but--
You know, you didn't do the trauma.
But-- well, the drinking was what I meant.
Yeah.
Apologizing for that, I think, is going
to go a long way with her.
ZACH: Jamie, we got to talk about the house stuff, man.
Where's your-- where's your head at right
now, as far as Joey's living?
Joey knows that he-- he still has a chance to gain the house,
but he doesn't even get the opportunity to regain the house
until he's employed and--
and able to pay the utilities and-- and the bills.
We got landlord hat and we got dad hat.
I want you to take the landlord hat
and throw it away for, like, six months.
AMANDA: To a year.
Zach and I are hoping to establish some more clear
boundaries that help Joey get the help that he
needs, to have the ultimate goal of having
his kids back in his life.
Besides just saying, well, if you hold a job,
you can have the house.
What I would love to see you do is commit to requiring him
to not only complete a 90-day program tomorrow,
but also to adhere to every aftercare recommendation that
that treatment center gives.
Are we in agreement with that?
This is where we probably waffle a bit, because I
feel like I want Joey to accept what
he thinks is going to help him.
I probably would refuse to be more directive and say,
you have to accept this program.
Um--
What other-- what other program do you think he has?
AMANDA: We need you to be exactly on board with what
our messaging is and support that,
or we're not going to be able to be successful.
These are the two programs that have been
chosen for them specifically--
JAMIE: Right.
--in different places in the country.
I don't know that.
You guys know that.
I don't know that.
What I would suggest is because it terrifies him,
if we present multiple options, he's
going to take the one that's the least fearful.
If he's not scared and he's not
going to have to suffer a little bit, then what's the purpose?
I mean, everybody has to sacrifice.
I think I'm very used to working as a therapist,
and I'm trained to lead people to answers,
not direct them to answers.
And that approach has been really successful with me
in a lot of different areas with Joey, not necessarily this one.
Boom.
You said it right there.
A lot of different areas, but not this one.
AMANDA: I'm going to ask tonight,
Jamie, that you do not have any talk about treatment, recovery.
All that stuff could scare him.
If he just says yes with an open mind and an open heart,
then the rest of the stuff will all figure itself out.
I think it went really well.
I like what we saw in there.
The only outlier, though, is Jamie.
I feel like he still wants to play ball,
but I think he wants to play ball his way.
[tense music]
[somber music]
CORINNE: I don't understand that behavior.
I really don't.
It really could have went so differently, because I--
I said it right ahead of time.
I said, I'm not upset.
Just right ahead of time, I'm not upset.
I just want to understand, you know?
And it didn't go well, so I hate this [bleep].
He stays mad for a minute.
It's going to be, like, a minute.
He's up-- I think he's upset--
oh, god.
He's mad because I caught him in such a big moral lie
that he's constantly trying to give-- show everybody, which is
be honest, don't cheat, you know, um, tell the truth
to your family always.
And I basically brought up all those things
and, um, threatened his values, and he got really mad.
But I-- I have, like, finite, like, absolute proof of it,
and he was mad.
Anybody would be, I guess.
[door slams]
We have trust issues.
We can work on them, OK?
We have very healthy conversations.
But when we get high, sometimes the fights are ridiculous.
[scoffs]
[knocks]
[tense music]
So we get a call around 3:00 AM this morning.
Joey and Corinne, they got in a huge blow-up fight.
I guess it was all over cheating.
Corinne went through Joey's phone.
She found a bunch of texts, a bunch of messages
that she obviously didn't approve of.
So this came to a head and it exploded.
What I'm going to suggest we do right now
is, let's get Johnny on the phone.
OK.
School him up to what's going on.
Because if we get up to the intervention location,
and we got to break off and go get Joey,
I think Johnny's going to be an asset for us on that.
Oh, yeah. We need him.
ZACH: So-- - He's-- he's strong.
He has that emotional connection.
I think that he's ready to show up for his brother,
and misses him.
[phone rings]
JOHNNY: (ON PHONE) Hello? - Hey, Johnny.
It's Zach. How are you doing this morning?
JOHNNY: Good. How are you doing?
So hey, we got a-- we got a call in the middle of the night
last night around 3:00 AM.
Um, Joey and Corinne got in a fight last night,
and right now Corinne is, uh--
well, she's over at Brendan's RV.
Um, Joey though, right now, lack of a better
word, he's kind of MIA.
JOHNNY: OK.
Here's-- this is what I want to do.
I want us to proceed completely as normal.
So I still want, um, you and your wife
to head over to the location for the intervention,
just same time as normal, as planned.
And then what me and you might need to do
is, uh, rally while we're over there,
and then we might need to break off.
JOHNNY: OK
And you know, go see if we can herd Joey in.
So let's do that.
Um, we'll-- we'll see you up there in--
well, hell, just a little bit at this point.
JOHNNY: Yeah, OK.
We'll see you over there.
It's kind of turned into a triage.
Let's triage the situation.
Which-- which one has the highest probability
of being saved first?
Let's knock that out of the way, and then double back
and try to go get Joey.
[birds chirping]
Good morning, everyone.
Thank you all for being here today, again.
We had a lot of things transpire last night.
We've had to shift the plan a bit.
There's some things that went on that I'd
love for Zach to get into.
Here's the nuts and bolts of what happened last night.
You know, we know Joey and Corinne were together.
But what we didn't expect was they had a bit of a blowout.
Corinne retreated back to the RV and Joey took off on foot.
I called Johnny this morning thinking,
like, hey, we might have to try to track
him down and bring him in.
But he contacted, you know, one of the members of our team,
and uh, right now, it's-- we're expecting him to show up.
But that does also change how we've
got to approach these interventions,
because we originally wanted to run Corinne and Joey
together in one intervention.
But with that big blowout, the best thing to do now
is going to be to split them up.
So we're going to do Corinne's intervention,
then we'll come back and we'll get
Joey's done as a standalone.
But we want both families involved in both interventions.
And just having both families together,
just the demonstration of that-- that unity between the two
is going to have a powerful impact.
[crying]
They're about 10 minutes out.
So does everyone feel ready?
Yes.
AMANDA: All right.
[tense music]
Oh, no, no, no.
[groans]
[tense music]
Oh, no, no, no.
[groans]
AMANDA: Hi.
CORINNE: Hi.
Hey, boo.
[chuckles]
Hey, Corinne.
Hi, Steve.
AMANDA: I'm Amanda.
I've heard awesome things about you.
If you want to, if you could sit right here, that'd be awesome.
If you want to introduce yourself.
ZACH: Corinne, I'm Zach, by the way.
Hi.
ZACH: It's nice to meet you.
Thank you for being here today.
I've learned a lot about from your loved ones.
And how are you feeling from, you know,
like, what went on last night?
Because this is a safe space of love.
AMANDA: Well, it happened.
It's-- it's another thing that's the past, right?
So don't beat yourself up.
You've definitely been doing that for far too long.
A little bit of grace.
OK.
We want to start by letting your uncle read something
that he wrote for you.
I'm here today to let you know I love and care
for you, first and foremost.
I know that I have not been the best role model as far
as alcohol and drug use is concerned,
but it is my hope that you see what being sober,
how it has benefited me.
I have every confidence that you can overcome anything
you set your mind to and come out shining
when all is said and done.
I'm anxious to see some of the old Corinne, who
took the time to make sure her poor old drunk uncle was
OK and fed.
[laughs, sniffles] Thank you.
You're very welcome.
Your uncle, he's here today to show you and his children
that people can change, and we do get better.
He's a miracle.
[sniffles]
AMANDA: OK, Jennifer.
Corinne, I love you, and I'm here
today to apologize and take responsibility for what trauma
I've caused in the past with my drinking,
and not realizing what was happening
to you with the people I allowed into your life.
We all have work to do to repair our relationship.
We are all here today to help save
your life from your addiction.
I love you so very much.
[sniffles]
I've been struggling with this resentment for my mom
for many years, and I just--
it felt good to hear it all in one letter.
[sniffs] Thank you, Mom.
I love you so much.
CORINNE: I love you too.
I never fathomed how much I hurt you.
Can I give you a hug?
Mm-hmm.
[gentle music]
I love you.
AMANDA: I'm going to come over and sit with you to share
with you your sweet brother.
CAIRO: Um, hey, big sister.
I wish I could have been there for you more.
I wish I could have learned how to communicate with you better.
And I just want you to know that we are
in this together as a family.
Hopefully, together, we can get you the help that you need,
so you can live the life you so dearly want to.
Today, I ask that you go through with the treatment.
If you want to feel like you belong in this family,
you have to do this.
Not for us, but for yourself.
I love you.
Whew.
So you know, because we have Joey's family here,
I do want to give just--
them just a moment of a piece of support
to give as well, because they're here
and I know that they care for you too,
and want you to get the help as well.
Hi.
So go ahead.
We'll just kind of go down the line, and--
So Corinne, we want you to get clean too,
and get better and make your family happy,
and we don't want to see nobody in the situation you're in.
We want you to get better.
Thank you.
That's really sweet.
That's really kind.
[sniffs]
You and I have gotten to know each other
a lot better in the last few weeks,
amid all this drama and chaos.
[chuckles]
And as a dad for Joey, I do appreciate
and I do recognize the value that you
brought to Joey's life.
And I know you're a really good person.
[sobs]
So I--
I do hope you go, accept treatment and go.
[laughter] AMANDA: Yeah?
OK.
Yeah, you're going to go?
Yeah.
OK, that's awesome.
ZACH: All right.
I feel great.
I'm super proud of her.
She really did great.
[laughs]
The intervention with Corinne was so beautiful, so healing.
And now she finally has an opportunity
to have all the things that she wants in life by starting
with taking care of herself first, which was the first step
of accepting treatment.
Oh.
CORINNE: I love you.
[both grunt]
Oh, I'm so excited for you.
I think she took the first step into a brighter world
for herself, yeah.
And uh-- and uh, I'm envious of the journey, you know?
[laughs]
Are you guys going to give a good attempt
at getting Joey to go? - Yeah.
We're going to do everything we can
to just deliver that same loving message
to him like we did to you.
And if all goes according to plan, like,
we have a great place for him to also go today.
Awesome.
I wish I could leave a letter for him, too.
You could leave a little-- a few words, like a little note.
I'm OK with that.
Absolutely.
I'd welcome it.
OK.
Bye.
JENNIFER: Love you, babe. - I love you.
Bye. Thank you, guys.
Love you, sweetheart.
Bye, Corinne.
You guys are amazing, all of you.
You've got this, girl.
Yeah.
[sniffs] Oh.
OK.
AMANDA: All right.
You have a lot of people rooting for you.
All right, girl.
We believe in you.
Thank you so much, seriously.
[gentle music]
[birds chirping]
When he shows up here, uh, Jamie, I want
you and me to go greet him.
I'll be right behind you.
Once we actually walk in through the front door,
I want the rest of you guys to just swarm him with bear hugs.
Corinne's gone, and that can help in Joey's decision making.
But we still have Jamie, and I'm not so sure about him.
I still question whether he's going
to come out of left field with something that just derails it.
I'm not mad at her.
Like, I am, I'm upset with her, but I'm mad at myself.
I could have handled that way better.
I know that.
An addiction, absolutely.
Drugs, yeah, I react.
And that's my biggest problem with this.
Just because I'm using doesn't mean I don't have a heart.
If I see her again, then I'm going to wish her luck.
I'm really going to hope that she gets better.
I'm really going to hope that I get better.
[knocks]
Whoa.
[birds chirping]
ZACH: When he shows up here, uh, Jamie, I want
you and me to go greet him.
I'll be right behind you.
Once we actually walk in through the front door,
I want the rest of you guys to just swarm him with bear hugs.
ZACH: OK.
Corinne's gone, and that can help in Joey's decision making.
But we still have Jamie, and I'm not so sure about him.
I still question whether he's going
to come out of left field with something that just derails it.
If he can play his part and play his part right,
that would give me a lot of hope.
[knocks]
All right.
Hey.
Hey, Dad.
Whoa.
Hi.
- My name is Zach. - Good to meet you.
- It's good to meet you, dude. - You too.
Come on in, man. Join us.
Take a seat.
We got a special spot just for you.
What's up, dude?
How you doing?
How are you, man?
Doing good.
Yeah.
Welcome to it.
Hi, sis.
Hey.
What's going on?
Oh.
Hey, sis.
- Hi. - How are you?
Good.
AMANDA: Just to introduce myself, I'm Amanda Marino.
Nice to meet you.
ZACH: The reason we're all here, dude, is everyone in this room
right now-- I mean, just look around, man.
Like, look at their faces.
Like, it's all love.
It's all support.
And today, like, what we really want to do
is just have a simple conversation
about some of the stuff that's been going on with you.
Johnny, let's start with you, man.
[clears throat] All right.
So Joey, growing up, it was always just us
kids doing everything together.
I remember the big tree fort we built in the backyard, how you
were always so good with building
and determined to get the job done.
I always thought you would end up building houses
or being a contractor someday.
Then the drugs got ahold of you, and you lost
your drive to finish anything.
You stopped showing up to work and providing for your family.
That was really hard to see.
It broke my heart to think how bad things had gotten for you,
and to be losing custody.
Since then, things haven't gotten any better.
This is your chance to get your life back on track.
All of us want you to do good.
Please don't miss out on this opportunity.
I love you, bro.
I love you too, man.
[sniffles]
OK.
First and foremost, I love you.
You are an amazing man, and I am blessed to have you in my life.
Your focus and capacity and health
is fading in the last three years,
and I can't bear the thought of losing you.
At the same time, I could not allow you to live in our home
if you are using.
I also know that in the deepest depths of your heart,
all you want is your children with you in a safe and healthy
home to raise them in.
But we both know that you have to be sober and healthy to have
any chance of achieving it.
You have to choose whether you're ready,
and what is the right treatment for you.
I will always be emotionally supportive and loving,
and I will never give up.
You are so amazing, and so strong,
and have the heart of a warrior, a father, and a son.
I love you.
We've heard what everyone over here has to say.
But a lot of people from Corinne's side
came as well to support you.
What do you guys want for Joey?
Joey, I love you.
You are just so caring and kind, and you always
have her back, no matter what.
And that is-- means so much to me.
Can I have a hug?
[gentle music]
This is a day of hope, a day of love.
Everyone in here loves you.
And I know this is an overwhelming seat to be in.
I've been in it myself.
But let me ask you, do you want to go to treatment today?
Today?
Today.
[tense music]
This is what you need, Joey.
[tense music]
And I know this is an overwhelming seat to be in.
I've been in it myself.
But let me ask you, do you want to go to treatment today?
Today?
Today.
This is what you need, Joey.
Like, I got, like, Beast and [bleep], dude.
Like, I got court.
We're going to take him.
We'll take care of Beast, and court will get handled, too.
Yeah.
It's not a big deal.
Johnny is willing to take Beast,
and Jamie is willing to help any way he can too.
So I want to hand this to you.
Ocean Recovery.
It's in Newport Beach.
I would be willing to put anyone in my family
in that specific treatment center if they were struggling.
I want you to be in a position to do this right once,
so that we can get back, and get back to the kids
and get back to the family, and get back to everything
that you want to have happen.
I think without this, the odds of the kids coming
in front of you are slim.
I think with this, the odds are extremely high.
Let's go.
Yeah.
AMANDA: Awesome. ZACH: All right, awesome.
AMANDA: Woo!
ZACH: I'm gonna give you a hug, too.
AMANDA: You deserve this.
ZACH: Come on.
Now, this-- this is the first step on an incredible journey,
my friend.
We just got a W on both sides.
Like, this couldn't have gone better, really.
This was a feel-good one, for me.
I love you, bro.
When Joey walked in the door and seen all of us there,
I think he was--
there was a part of him where he was ready to--
to come to grips with it, and fix the problem
he has, and come out of it.
I want him to get his life back.
I want him in recovery.
I want him in a home with his kids.
And I want us all to be one big family.
- I got your back. - Right on.
Thank you.
Apparently I've got a lot of people that got my back.
- Yeah. - Yeah.
[laughter, chatter]
You're going to do good, Joey.
[chatter]
ZACH: This is the Beast, huh?
JOEY: Yeah, that's my dog.
Hopefully we can get our brother back,
our-- you know, get Joey back, the one
that we all know and love.
And he hasn't been around in a long time.
All Mom ever wanted was Joey sober, and uh,
us all coming together, being close.
Ain't going to be easy, Joe, but stick it out, dude.
It's worth it.
It's gonna be.
It definitely will be.
He's one of those rare people, he could be anything he wants.
He has all the potential in the world.
He just needs to want it, focus it, and be able to be
healthy enough to do it.
JOHNNY: We love you, bro. - Love you too, man.
Thank you. JOHNNY: You got this.
All right.
Love you, bro.
ZACH: We'll see him off.
Hey.
Good work, bro.
Thanks, man.
I love you, man.
JOEY: Bye, bro.
Bye, Beast.
JOHNNY: [sighs]
[groans] It's good to see him on his way.
ZACH: It's hard, but it's a happy ending.
JOHNNY: Absolutely, yeah.
No, that's the biggest relief right there.
[sighs]
Dude, I'm so done.
I've always really wanted to just, you know, not--
not be doing this, not feel this way anymore, not be addicted.
From the first day I used, I hated it.
I hated it.
I still hate it.
It's cost me everything.
Oh.
CORINNE: He could be great at rehab.
He could freaking just, like-- it'll click
and he'll be like, I'm done, yeah, you know?
And maybe I'm the one who's just never going to get it,
you know?
But I feel like he's going to struggle,
and I'm worried that he's going to say, this sucks, and bounce.
That's what I hope for.
One thing at a time, you know.
[airplane whooshing]
Oh my gosh, this is crazy.
[chuckles]
[gentle music]
I'm excited.
Mm-hmm.
Welcome to Texas.
CORINNE: Yeah.
Never been.
Corinne comes to us with some significant trauma history.
We like to focus primarily on mental health
here at Amend Wellness.
Basically you just initial all of these.
We hope that she will engage with the treatment
staff and the treatment plan.
How was the flight?
It was flighty.
Flighty.
Mm-hmm.
She will meet with a therapist, a master's level
clinician, and we will communicate with her family
and ensure that they are part of the healing process.
I can read every book in the world about how
to get better and go anywhere to get better,
but I can't seem to get better.
So my greatest fear is that this isn't going to work,
and that scares me.
But I'm going to try my best.
JOEY: I'm excited about it.
Nervous a little bit, but all in all, it's needed to happen.
[gentle music]
- Hey. - Hi, Joey.
How you doing? How are you doing?
Joey. - I'm Joey.
Good to meet you. Nice!
Right on. Sweet.
[laughs] It's good to meet you.
We're so glad to have you here.
- Oh, it's good to be here. - Good to meet you.
- Yeah, thank you. - Want me to take your bag?
Uh, yeah, please. Thank you.
Appreciate it. - Yeah, no problem.
I'm happy that you're here, man. - Wow.
[gentle music]
I've been sober 71 days, and I'm so excited.
I feel healthy.
It's like you can see better.
You can think better.
My mind is clear.
Corinne has made incredible progress since being
with us here at Amend Wellness.
I believe that her outlook on life
is very different than when she first arrived.
She's also really dug in to her trauma
and worked very closely with our therapeutic team
to have that internal transformation
that's so necessary for her betterment to continue.
I didn't understand the concept of self-love.
In order to be sober for the rest of my life,
I have to love myself.
Joey is and forever will be my best friend.
I will always have a place in my heart for him.
I love him unconditionally.
Right now, I hope to just concentrate on myself so that I
can get better, and my only hope is that he's feeling
the same way about himself.
I didn't realize how much was lost to drugs.
Like, I feel more for others, for myself.
It's like all the love and compassion that
was once in me is back again.
[gentle music]
I've been sober now for 69 days.
And uh, I feel really good.
I haven't felt this good, I think, ever, honestly.
The first time I've got clarity.
When I first got here, I didn't want to be here.
I was convinced I was doing this for somebody else,
that I didn't need this that bad.
I honestly was looking for any excuse to take off.
And uh-- and I did.
I actually-- I did leave.
Joey was here about a week when he first arrived, and left
against medical advice.
I got a call from my ex, saying
that my son was acting out.
So I left here and went to Texas, stayed with my kids
for three weeks, helped correct things,
and uh, I didn't use once.
I made my mind up before I left here that I was going
to follow this thing through.
And I did that.
We were happy to-- to bring him back.
Since he's made it back, his anxiety is way down.
Um, he's working on a lot of his codependency,
and he's learning how to focus on what's in his control.
And that's the only way he's really
going to be able to be there for his family or his kids,
is by taking care of himself first.
And that was a pretty foreign concept to him when he arrived.
My biggest challenge in treatment
is not feeling like I've been there for my kids.
I call my kids almost every day, now.
It's a relationship that-- that never really happened before.
Me and Corinne are, uh, no longer together.
Um, we have to work on ourselves,
fix ourselves, before we can be good for anybody.
Two broken boards don't build a sturdy bench,
and so we're going to focus on ourselves and our family.
I want to look back on my life--
I want my kids to look back and be
like, man, my dad was awesome.
He was there for people.
He was there for us.
He was there for himself.
[waves lapping]
[gentle music]