This article from National Public Radio (NPR) cites an important and hopeful fact: Most Americans who experience alcohol and drug addiction survive. They recover and go on to live full and healthy lives. The piece reports on studies that show this good news. These studies highlight why it is important to support multiple pathways to recovery and to not over emphasize any one particular path over others. Researchers cited in the reports say that these findings contradict the widespread misperception that substance-use disorder is a permanent affliction that is often fatal.

The U.S. faces an unprecedented surge of drug deaths, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting another grim milestone this week. In a single 12-month period, fatal overdoses claimed 101,623 lives. But researchers and drug policy experts say the grim toll obscures an important and hopeful fact: Most Americans who experience alcohol and drug addiction survive. They recover and go on to live full and healthy lives.