There is an epidemic afoot, a plague on households across the land. It is an equal opportunity offender, impacting rich and poor, black and white. The opioid crisis killed more than seventy million people last year, and the numbers will never tell the whole story of devastation and grief. More evidence of how pervasive it is: Almost all of us know someone who is dealing with it in some way. 

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Into this maelstrom walks Steve Grant, a father, a husband, and entrepreneur. He raised two sons in a mostly idyllic setting. He coached their sports teams. He went to all the school functions and parent teacher conferences. He modeled, as best as he knew how, what a good life looks like. 

 

Then, one day, trouble came calling. At first it was just a whisper, a white lie here and there from his boys who, up to then, had been as trustworthy as they come. Those small moments were just the first steps down into an abyss filled with anger, sadness, drugs and, eventually, overdose and death. Both sons, Christopher and Kelly, never reached twenty five. 

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If you feel that you cannot make it, you can.

 

There’s a line in a new Carrie Underwood song called “The Bullet” that says that ‘mamas ain’t supposed to bury their sons.’ Fathers shouldn’t either.

 

What Steve Grant did next is a remarkable story all by itself. Though drowning in grief, he couldn’t stop thinking of other parents out there who are experiencing this worst of all possible moments, or will be experiencing it soon. He decided that something good should come out of all of this, or else the whole experience would be wasted. His boys needed to leave a legacy, and he would see to it that their legacies would be all about helping and encouraging others. He launched the Chris and Kelly Hope Foundation, and began to offer financial aid, encouragement, and his unique voice to the efforts of organizations around the country who are on the front lines of this battle.  

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If you feel you are all alone, I’m here with countless others.

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Don’t Forget Me honors Chris and Kelly Grant while still telling the unvarnished truth about the realities of addiction. It is an unforgettable walk through the valley of the shadow of death, but it reminds us in the most poignant way that we don’t have to stay there.  

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To learn more go to: https://dontforgetmebook.com/ 

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About Steve Grant
 

Steve Grant was born in New York City and raised in Paramus, New Jersey where he was the Captain of both the baseball and basketball teams and played All Conference Baseball his junior and senior years.

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After graduation, he attended Furman University on a partial baseball scholarship and served as baseball captain his junior and senior years. After college, his love of baseball never waned. He started the Catholic High School Baseball Team at St. Joseph’s High in 1994 and volunteered as head coach there for 12 years.

 

In March of 2012, he founded the Chris and Kelly’s HOPE Foundation and serves as its Executive Director. The Foundation has helped numerous organizations including creating The Chris and Kelly’s HOPE Fitness Park which was donated in 2014. Steve is currently writing a book about the loss of his two sons to accidental overdose and his journey from grief to gratitude. It is titled “Don’t Forget Me” and will publish in early 2019. 

Steve is the four-time recipient of Northwestern Mutual Foundation National Community Service Award. In 2013, he was presented with the South Carolina Upstate Philanthropic Achievement Award. In 2015, he received the South Carolina Governor’s Volunteer Award for volunteer community leadership.

 

He serves on both The Family Effect Board as well as the Board of The Center for Drug and Alcohol Programs/Medical University of SC. 

Steve is currently Managing Director for Mass Mutual in South Carolina where he continues to coach and mentor. “I've always wanted to train, recruit, and mentor young people that want to get into this business,” he says, “or people that are transitioning as career changers, or people that are actually in the financial services business but they want to be maybe in a little better position, hopefully. I am so happy to be doing this at this time in my life.”

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He is married to Cathy, and they reside in Simpsonville, SC.