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Four days after Christmas, Amy Rose let herself into the apartment. She discovered Patrick's body on the living-room couch. Patrick Bissell was dead of an overdose of cocaine and other drugs. He had just turned 30.
圣诞节后的第四天，埃米·罗斯走进公寓，在起居室的沙发上发现了帕特里克的尸体。帕特里克·比斯尔死于过量吸食可卡因和其他毒品。他年仅30岁。
Patricia Bissell's voice breaks as she speaks of a death notice for her son in The New York Times. Beneath the name Bissell, it simply states: "Good night, sweet prince."
帕特里夏·比斯尔在提到《纽约时报》上有关她儿子的讣告时泣不成声。在比斯尔的名字下，讣告上简单地写着：晚安，可爱的芭蕾王子。
It is impossible to say what, if anything, could have saved Patrick Bissell once he had begun his long dance of death. His mother, realizing that her assessment runs counter to some expert wisdom, offers a powerful insight:
我们也不能断定在帕特里克·比斯尔开始他漫长的死亡之舞时，还有什么能够挽救他。他母亲觉得自己的看法与某些专家相悖，于是发表了她深刻而有力的见解：
We are quick to blame such tragedies on others—on peer pressure, stressful occupations, drug dealers, everyone except ourselves. But most of these problems begin at home, when children are being brought up. It is hard for me to admit this, but I failed to nurture in Patrick the self-esteem he needed to deal with life. No matter how well he did, he felt that he had failed. He used drugs because they allowed him to escape that feeling. When we come to understand and accept this aspect of addiction, maybe we can do something about it.
“我们急于把此类悲剧归咎给他人——归罪给同辈的压力、压力大的职业、毒品贩子，埋怨每个人，就是不愿意责怪自身。可是这些问题大多起源于家庭，起源于孩子的成长过程。我很难承认这一点，但是我确实没能在儿子身上培养他面对生活的自尊。无论他曾经表现得如何出色，他总是觉得自己失败了。他吸食毒品，因为毒品能使他逃避这种感觉。当我们渐渐了解并接受他吸毒成瘾的原因时，也许有些事是我们可以做的。”
