Tatum O’Neal’s son Kevin McEnroe opens up about the actress’ struggle with addiction in an emotional and relatable Mother’s Day essay.
Tatum O’Neal suffered a near-fatal stroke from drug overdose
Tatum O’Neal opened up about the health scare he experienced as a result of substance abuse in an interview with People magazine in May 2020. “I almost died.”
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Tatum O’Neal’s son opens up about the Oscar-winning actress’ struggle with addiction in an emotional and empathetic essay for Mother’s Day.
Kevin McEnroe, whose parents include O’Neal and tennis player John McEnroe, published a vulnerable essay written in the form of a letter to his mother in Small Bow magazine on May 7th. In it, he said the Paper Moon star, 62, had not been “always a mother” to him and talked about how difficult it was to watch her struggle with drug addiction. But he ended by offering love and forgiveness.
Ms. McEnroe wrote to Ms. O’Neal that when she was a child, “you were my mother until my boyfriend gave me heroin,” adding, “Sometimes you would leave the house in the middle of the night and not come back until the morning.”
“I don’t care that one of my earliest memories is of you sending me to buy cigarettes or me throwing away your drugs,” he wrote. “I don’t care that once I found a mirror on your bathroom counter, your answer was, you can say the line if you want. … I don’t care that you overdosed again and had a stroke and brain damage, and then you tried to escape from a memory care facility, and then you drank. In a weird way, I’m proud of that. That’s when I knew you were still alive.”
“It’s hard sometimes, but I love you,” McEnroe told his mother, adding that about a year and a half ago, his mother drank and told her she wanted to commit suicide. At first, she berated him, but said, “Then you called me and I helped you.” “You haven’t had a drink or a drug since then, and I’m proud of you for that. I’ve never seen you put so much effort into anything, but today you do.”
McEnroe also reflected on his substance abuse problems in the article, noting that he previously abused alcohol, cocaine, and painkillers. “I drank myself to death and you were about to attend my funeral,” he wrote. “I’m so lucky to be like you, because now I understand. I can forgive because I empathize.”
Later in the essay, he added: “I forgive you, and you forgive me, and we forgive others, because we have to. Otherwise we would both be dead.” In closing, he wished Ms. O’Neal a happy Mother’s Day and said he was “proud” to be her son.
O’Neal, who became the youngest Oscar winner at age 10 for her supporting role in Paper Moon, starring her father Ryan O’Neal, has opened up about her past drug abuse problems. She was arrested in New York in 2008 for purchasing cocaine and pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct.
In 2020, O’Neal suffered a near-fatal stroke from an overdose of morphine, opiates and painkillers. She was in a coma for six weeks. In a 2023 interview with People magazine, she said that when she came out of the coma, she was unable to speak because she “almost died.” The Bad News Bears star said at the time that he was in recovery and had spent two years trying to regain his memory.
“I’ve been trying to stay sober my whole life,” O’Neal told People magazine, adding that she had been an addict “on and off for the last 30 to 40 years.” McEnroe also told People that her mother has “embraced this attempt at recovery,” adding, “In the world of recovery, there can be moments where you feel like, ‘I can’t live like this.'” And I think that’s what ultimately happened. I see great hope now. ”
In a new essay, McEnroe told his mother that the stroke was “the best thing that ever happened to you and to us,” because “even though you’re alive today, you definitely wouldn’t be alive and there’s hope that tomorrow you might be alive.”
If you or someone you know is suffering from a mental and/or substance use disorder, you can call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s free and confidential Treatment Referral and Information Service at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). Available 24/7 in English and Spanish (TTY: 1-800-487-4889).
