Harry Farley

I am a retired educator of thirty-six years. I taught for twelve years followed by twenty-four years as a building principal. I am a husband of fifty-six years. I have two sons Jason (Deceased), and Jared. I am the grandfather of two granddaughters and two grandsons. I am a facilitator for PAL (Parents of Addicted Loved Ones) Dallas. PAL is an organization designed to help parents, grandparents, spouses, and siblings that have a loved one in addiction.

I recently published a book titled, Fighting for Brianna. It’s the story of the son I lost to addiction, and the granddaughter I fought to save. When Jason started show signs of drug use, my wife and I had no idea of what to do, or who to turn to for help. We had missed all of the early warning signs of possible drug use. Sixteen years later when we were faced with my granddaughters addiction, we were little to no better off. Her addiction had so many more twist and turns than Jason’s. Brianna’s addiction covered her addiction, sex trafficking, medical trauma, prison, and redemption.

From my experiences in dealing with Jason and Brianna’s addiction, I have developed two presentations. The first titled, When You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know, is for parents, teachers, counselors, nurses, administrators, and church organizations. I talk about the importance of recognizing the early warning signs of addiction, enabling, setting boundaries, and the importance of having that tough talk, if and when the time comes.

The second presentation is titled, You Are Your Choices, is for middle age high school students. I talk about the importance of the choices you make and the friends you choose. These choices can and will affect your future. This presentation is for schools and church youth groups.