Melissa Etheridge Plans Virtual Performance for ‘Stronger Than Addiction’ Event
Melissa Etheridge lined up a live virtual performance as part of Shatterproof’s Stronger Than Addiction Challenge on September 26th. The event, a digital replacement for the non-profit’s annual 5K run/walk, will raise funds and awareness for addiction treatment.
“We are honored that Melissa Etheridge will be our special guest,” said Kirsten Suto Seckler, Shatterproof’s chief marketing officer, in a statement. “She tragically lost her 21-year-old son, Beckett Cypher, in May to substance use disorder. Her willingness to share of herself through her music will be a gift to our participants, many who have also lost loved ones or who are in recovery.”
Etheridge added, “I hope that my music and our collective voices and actions can end the stigma of addiction and help society realize that we need to work together to overcome this horrible disease.”
Shatterproof is encouraging the event’s participants to perform any kind of physical or creative activity, either individually or as a team, while helping raise money to support those recovering from addiction and honor those previously affected by it.
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The celebration event will be emceed by Dr. Nzinga Harrison, a physician, psychiatrist, addiction expert and host of the In Recovery podcast. Additional details are available at the Shatterproof website.
Etheridge recently opened up to IndieLand about the grief she experienced following her son’s death.
“As the mother of someone who was addicted to opioids, it’s a struggle,” she said. “You want to help your child. You want to make them all better. He was a young adult. 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.”
