It was the hug that saved him.
Ben always knew that his family’s love was the greatest blessing he had, but never did he imagine the day where it would be his saving grace. In the documentary Beautiful Things, he credits his survival through drug-abuse to this embrace.
It was a Saturday morning, when the family had received the news that Ben had finally made it to his breaking point. They had known for months that he had been living recklessly, and that the time for action had come. The brothers, along with their mother, had decided to stage an intervention to bring Ben back into the fold.
It went off the rails very quickly.
Within minutes, Ben was screaming and running from the room, frantically searching for the drugs that he so desperately craved. It took all of the family’s strength to keep him in the house, to keep him away from the life he had begun to succumb to.
He started to calm and this is when his father had a thought. Taking in a shuddering Ben, his father tightened his grasp and said: “I don’t know what else to do. I’m so scared. Tell me what to do.”
It was these words that finally broke through. In that moment, Ben realized that his family was willing and ready to make a change with him. It was his father’s hug that re-infused in Ben the courage of his convictions and the love that he had forgotten amidst all the chaos.
The family had given him an opportunity to come home, a chance to return to the home that he had forgotten. It was a chance that would prove life-changing, and forever remind Ben of the power of love.
Since that moment, Ben has made a full recovery. It was that hug that ultimately enabled him to get clean and then stay clean, a hug that has become part of his motivation for recovering from his trauma and taking back his life.
“It was a hug that reminded me that there was hope in the world, in my own life,” Ben reflects in the documentary. “It is something I will never forget.”
While Ben’s story has been used to inspire millions, he insists that his story dos not come without the recognition of his family’s unwavering love and support. It was that hug that saved him, the hug that opened the door to his new life.
Ben’s story is one of transformation, of love, and of courage. Through Beautiful Things, Ben is a reminder of the power of our homes, of the power of the family, and of the power of love.