Hubert has a difficult relationship with his son. What caused David to turn to drugs and could Hubert have handled the situation differently?

Hubert has a difficult relationship with his son. What caused David to turn to drugs and could Hubert have handled the situation differently? If yes, how?

There are many reasons why people turn to drugs. My guess is that David did not feel accepted because he was mixed race, because his mom’s family did not accept him, because he hardly knew his father’s family.
Maybe he was ashamed of his dad. Maybe the part people did not accept about David was because he was his father’s son.

Based on the information the book provided, I don't believe there was anything that could have changed David's fate. He became an addict at a young age and likely suffered from mental health issues and/or learning disabilities, which were exacerbated by substance abuse. Given the time frame of this story, the resources and conversations did not exist which may have altered the outcome.

I thought Hubert's relationship with his son was one of the saddest parts of the story. Both Hubert and David were alive but not able to connect due to David's addiction. Addiction is such an isolating disease both for the addict and his family. Hubert tried to meet David where he was providing food and a warm blanket - very concrete expressions of his love. And it seemed like David might have attended the big rally and saw his father in the positive way that others saw him, although he faded into the crowd before Hubert could find him. Such a reminder that happiness and sadness often exist side by side in a person's life.

It seems that at an early stage in his life, David came into drugs. Services then were not as they are now, not for David, nor for someone like Hubert. Recovering from drug addiction requires resources, a support system, and the like. Hubert couldn't provide that to an extent to meet the need. Bringing him blankets, etc., was the best that Hubert could do. David, unfortunately, needed so much more. David's behavior and lack of response were the result of the extensive drug use; he may have wanted to change but did not have the strength to do it. It is so very sad that the drug problem is ongoing and severe.

I felt the author could have explained what led David to drugs in a little more detail, but possibly there was not a certain event. It seemed like David's family life provided him with a loving environment, but he had some demons he could not overcome. The situation was very sad for Joyce and David and even sadder that there was not a better outcome for David.

I know this is slightly off the direct topic of this thread but I wanted to say that I thought that David's storyline was one of the strongest because it showed a different sort of grief. I can only imagine the awfulness of losing a child or a spouse to death but at least there is some sort of "closure", a baseline from which to move on; but to grieve for a family member who is alive but unreachable would be something that would eat away at me.

The book never really explored why David's life took a downturn and he ended up leaving college, working odd jobs, and becoming an addict. The only hint it gave was when David thought Rose was the favorite child... and Hubert never addressed this by saying they were love equally.

I also wondered if David was the one who broke into and ransacked Hubert's apartment looking for drug money. I thought for sure this would be the case.

I can personally relate to Hubert's difficulties with his son, as we have had a similar difficulty in our family. To ask what caused David to turn to drugs is not an answerable question! Who knows what causes one to become addicted? Once an addict, you are never free again. I think Hubert handled the situation as best he could.

Addiction is a complicated disease. I don’t think we can know why David turned to drugs. I’m sure that it was very challenging to have parents of different races at that time in England. I think Hubert did the best that he could. His journey with David involved hope, disappointment, and wondering if he was the cause. Hubert preserved for many years, and I believe that he always hoped that one day they would have a healthy relationship.

Addiction is so difficult. As a former teacher I have seen so many promising lives destroyed by drugs. There is no easy answer to why young people make that choice. The guilt that parents feel is so crippling. I think of all of Hubert’s losses the loss of his son to drugs is the hardest.

Even hindsight can't help in trying to figure out when things changed. It is sad that so many people get lost to drugs and no amount of study or possible solutions seem to change the way it will continue to affect families.

Hubert has a difficult relationship with his son, David because David is a drug addict and has rejected his family.

I don't feel that the reader has enough information to figure out why David turned to drugs. Some reviewers had good suggestions: isolation, racism, poor support services for addicts etc.

I think Hubert and Joyce tried all avenues that they could to help David deal with his addiction. Unfortunately, they were not able to break the addiction cycle and David has remained estranged from his family.

I think the novel would have benefitted with some closure regarding Hubert and David, however.

I think as a parent, we always want to look for a reason why...why did my son turn to drugs, etc. In many cases, and I believe this to be true for Hubert's son, there really is no why, other than a poor choice that starts a person down a terrible path. Clearly, he was loved and valued as a son and the family was supportive and did all they could to help him deal with this terrible addiction. At the end of the day, they did their best. Some people can't be helped.