S15.E04: Anne and Digger

[Tara Ariano]

Husband-and-wife heroin addicts need help, but their situation is complicated by the presence of additional addicts in the family.

[Primetimer]

And his dad, Lawrence. And Anne's boyfriend. It's a big old family trash fire.

Read the story

[JennB]

I hope Digger also got treated for dehydration after all that crying.

If anyone ever touches a hair on Blaze's head, I will mess them up.

[Chaos Theory]

Blaze was awesome.

Was there an adult family member who didn't use drugs?

I missed it. Did the BSOJ say Anne relapsed and moved back in with her boyfriend?

[Sarahsue]

What was the outcome for diggers dad

[JennB]

Everyone relapsed, but Digger's sober again.

[auntieminem]

Yes it did say Anne relapsed when she went home and was back with Greg.  The follow up for Digger and his dad went so fast I am now sure what happened except one was sober since Dec. 15.  I was not close to my remote to rewind.  How someone here can clear it up. 

 

ETA:  Thanks JennB.  So glad for Blaze that at least Digger is sober.  

Edited March 28, 2016 by auntieminem

[Court]

Dad left sober living, went home and relapsed immediately.<br /><br />Digger returned home, relapsed two months later. He went back to treatment and has remained in Southern California. Sober since Dec 2015.<br /><br />Anne went home, moved in with her dad and relapsed after 55 days and is back with Greg.<br /><br />My chyrons were different from the recap.

[Christina]

When Blaze was crying and Anne leaned in to hug and cry with her, I wanted someone in that room to snatch her by her hair. It was so fake and narcissistic and that young lady deserved better. I couldn't muster any sympathy for Anne. 

 

I think I liked Lawrence the best, because he was only on the screen for 2 minutes. 

 

My ending chryons also said that they all relapsed and Digger returned to treatment. 

[Chrys]

I am blown away by Annes actions even allowing that douche greg even close to that little angel Blaze... I applaud Digger for staying sober it takes alot of courage to overcome an addiction.. He is the only parent besides his mother those kids are gonna have. Digger needs to keep going and pushing for those babies...

[wait.what]

Everyone looked so different sober. Digger looked good! Wonder who paid for his dental work?

[Enero]

Everyone looked so different sober. Digger looked good! Wonder who paid for his dental work?

The dad I thought looked the most transformed. He looked like a completely different man with the extra weight and new teeth.

Did they say how/why Anne got into drugs? I think I might've missed some of her story.

Digger went through hell as a child and had been abusing alcohol and or drugs since he was 10 years old. SMH. I didn't think he had a chance. I was surprised that out of three he seemed the most serious about getting clean and staying clean. I'm glad he went back to rehab after relapsing and continues to push on. I hope that he will be successful.

[Sarah D. Bunting]

"My chyrons were different from the recap."

AGAIN! I don't know why I bother. I'll update them shortly; I apologize for the confusion/promise to learn my lesson.

[candall]

I LOOOVE Sarah D. Bunting's recaps for this show.  ("Amen, small bro.")  Before I even watch the show, I scroll down to see to see whether the episode is China White-worthy.

 

But also, my quirky DVR cuts off the last 60 seconds of every show.  Usually not critical, but Intervention is frustrating and incomplete without the report placards.  And, cool--this time we even got some behind-the-scenes insight as to how closely those updates are monitored, changing between screener and broadcast.

 

I think people would invest more fully in the older episodes if the chyron reports were updated.  Or would that be so depressing, the whole Intervention schematic would implode?

[PrincessSteel]

Relapse is part of recovery. I have two kids who are active in recovery (as of today, anyway) and relapse has been part of both journeys. As long as the addict recommits to treatment a relapse can strengthen recovery. Digger's follow up story doesn't surprise me in the least. Nor does Anne's. I never believed her commitment to sobriety for a second. She came across as selfish, even for an addict. Lawrence was just sad.

[Chaos Theory]

Thinking back and I might be wrong but Digger at least was aware of the harm he was doing to his kids and wanted to be better. I don't think Anne ever gave a shit further then the fact they were "her" kids more then Diggers. Digger at least came off as a real person while Anne even supposed sober Anne came off as fake. I am glad Ken didn't buy it for a second.

As for why they both became addicts it came down to family history, Digger was abused by a babysitter, bad luck and RX meds.

Edited March 28, 2016 by Chaos Theory

[MarysWetBar]

I LOOOVE Sarah D. Bunting's recaps for this show. ("Amen, small bro.") Before I even watch the show, I scroll down to see to see whether the episode is China White-worthy.

But also, my quirky DVR cuts off the last 60 seconds of every show. Usually not critical, but Intervention is frustrating and incomplete without the report placards. And, cool--this time we even got some behind-the-scenes insight as to how closely those updates are monitored, changing between screener and broadcast.

I think people would invest more fully in the older episodes if the chyron reports were updated. Or would that be so depressing, the whole Intervention schematic would implode?

Ditto to absolutely loving the recaps! I love your style of writing and literally laugh out loud reading them.

[mythoughtis]

My DVR also cuts off about a minute early.  So thank you for the update.

 

I am confused by Anne's reason for becoming addicted to drugs.  She referred to 'trauma'... but her only trauma seemed to be:

 

       Mom left the family, store burned down, and Digger cheated on her after childbirth.  She hinted that Digger should be in jail for some behavior towards her, but didn't elaborate. It sounded like the usual drug addict ramblings. 

 

Digger had actual trauma.  Two drug addicted parents during childhood, childhood sexual abuse.  Construction accident, given painkillers.

 

The only adult in this family that had not been an addict at some point was Anne's Dad.

 

I hope Digger can stay clean and sober.  It will be hard to do so in that family.

 

Was this the first episode in which 3 people were offered help?

[stephinmn]

I absolutely loved Blaze. She was so insightful and intelligent...I really hope she never even touches drugs and goes on to do great things. Genetically, the addiction lottery is against her, so I know it will be harder for her. But wow that kid.

I also hope Digger can be with his kids, eventually. He has support from his mom and obviously loves his kids. I don't think Anne will, but her sister could act as a surrogate for her with the kids. (Speaking of the kids, their names make me wonder if the parents were transplants from Utah...)

[grumpypanda]

I feel like a lot of back story was left out or completely fabricated about these two. I have a hard time believing that they were living a squeaky clean, all-american life prior to Digger's construction accident. I'm guessing they always partied but were able to keep things somewhat together until they started shooting up.

Anyway, I've seen some shitty parents on this show and I'd put these two somewhere in the top ten for sure. The names of those poor children might be enough to earn them a spot in the top twenty (low blow, I know.)

The scene where they discussed mommy nodding off with Blaze really pissed me off. What the hell were they thinking talking about that shit with their little girl? Yeah, Anne you're a great mom, keep telling yourself that.

Anyway, I hope that Digger stays clean and keeps that toxic witch away from the kids until she gets her shit together. I think it's better for the kids to have no mother than to see their mom high as a kite.

Edited March 29, 2016 by grumpypanda

[stephinmn]

Is anyone else wondering why the insurance didn't pay up for the robbery of their store? Also, would one robbery, one day, be enough to lose an entire business? Most people pay with debit or credit cards, so how much cash did they lose?

 

[Toaster Strudel]

Blaze broke my heart.

 

Most of the time she was playing the role of the brave, hyper-mature child, and I think parroting a lot of the adult ideas and attitudes towards her parents' addiction that she must hear all the time.  Probably she gets accolades from the family for playing that role.  But then suddenly in the middle of it she couldn't bear the pain, the brave mask would come down, the enormity of the situation would hit her and she would weep uncontrollably like the child that she is.

 

When your mother tries to convince you that you are loved and not at all abandoned because she has "not nodded off on heroin since November" for your sake, even when that's not even true, it's as f'd up as it gets.

 

Poor Blaze.

[grumpypanda]

Is anyone else wondering why the insurance didn't pay up for the robbery of their store? Also, would one robbery, one day, be enough to lose an entire business? Most people pay with debit or credit cards, so how much cash did they lose?

I just don't understand this either unless all their merchandise was stolen or destroyed but why wouldn't the insurance pay? None of it makes any sense. I wonder if they didn't have insurance to begin with or the insurance company suspected foul play.This is partly why I think they were using drugs prior to the construction accident. Their story is just not adding up.

Edited March 29, 2016 by grumpypanda

[JenMcSnark]

I'm watching now and Anne is the worst.  Digger has a reason for his addiction...meth at 10!!  After being raped repeatedly!  But Anne was a latchkey kid whose husband cheated on her. Big fucking whoopdeedo. Selfish cow. 

 

Blaze is way too grown for her age and she's going to be angry in the future.  I hope her grandmother can help her through that.  

 

My thought about the "robbery" is that they robbed the store themselves to buy meth and/or alcohol and tried to pass it off as a robbery.  Obviously the insurance company wasn't fooled. 

[stephinmn]

I just don't understand this either unless all their merchandise was stolen or destroyed but why wouldn't the insurance pay? None of it makes any sense. I wonder if they didn't have insurance to begin with or the insurance company suspected foul play.This is partly why I think they were using drugs prior to the construction accident. Their story is just not adding up.

It was a clothing store. I just can't see it being robbed, let alone enough merchandise or money being stolen to warrant closing the store permanently. I suspect they were either using the store as a front or to launder money.

[pasdetrois]

Blaze is charismatic, razor smart, and way too mature for her tender years. I hope the Intervention angels get her some counseling so she has a chance in life. She learned at the intervention that her aunt and grandmother were also addicts. She must be terrified it will happen to her too.

 

Despite his addiction, Digger was in touch with his feelings -- all the crying about being raped as a child and other stuff -- and Anne was checked out and mouthing platitudes. I think Digger was ready for recovery and she is not. Dad may be too far gone. His residence was a pig sty.

 

It's tough when the parent has to stay far away in order to maintain sobriety. I hope Digger's children get their dad back soon. At least their grandmother is taking care of them.

[Auntie Anxiety]

I had to give Digger some credit for being a lot more self-aware than most of the addicts on this show.  He is the only one I can remember in recent history who said, "I love my kids more than anything else" and then admitted it was b.s. because he loves his drugs more than anything else.  Thank you, Digger. It's something I want to scream at the tv every time an addict claims s/he cares about the offspring.

 

It's hard for me to get my head around, but many of these featured addicts have emotional scars from their own parents; either the parent(s) deserted or neglected them, the parents became addicts and stopped caring about the kids or the kids were molested when taken care of by babysitters/family members/new boyfriends, etc.  Then the addicts do exactly the same thing to their own kids and don't give a shit.

 

I thought Blaze was too young to be involved in some of the talk and intervention.  It was important for Digger and Anne to hear what she had to say; she was forced to grow up way too early, but she didn't need to hear the surprise confessions from Granny et al.  The poor girl needs to be a child.  Poor kid already has bags under her eyes.  She has the rest of her life to be an adult.  I worry that she's going to go down the same path and will need a ton of support and therapy to steer clear of the family curse.

Edited March 29, 2016 by Auntie Anxiety

[gunderda]

How old was Blaze?  Too young to be this aware of her parents addiction, that's for sure.  My nephews have a mom that is a drug addict, she's been to treatment a million times.  I hope to god they can be that honest with her if they ever need to be. They aren't around here that much though so their love might be blinding. 

 

The clothing store- they said the insurance didn't cover all of the damage/loss.  So it sounds like they got a partial payout from it. 

 

The updates are so freaking sad!!! I'm glad one of them stuck with it though which seemed to be the one who was the most messed up, so good for Digger.  I was totally routing for his dad too. ARGGGG addiction is a bitch. 

[Mya Stone]

This is the first time I have absolutely broken down while watching this.

When Blaze (sigh - and this is a sigh from a mother who named her eldest Maverick) was reading her letter to Digger (at least that's a nickname?), and she broke...I broke. I could tell that she was closer to him, and he was the better parent, at any rate. I saw straight through Anne's BS. I'm usually completely anti-children at interventions, but Blaze? She made this episode for me.

[farmgal4]

Those poor, pitiful children. I pray to God that none of those 3 beautiful children ever so much as try drugs or alcohol, not even once, because if they do, they are fucked considering that addiction runs rampant in their family on both sides. And I'm sorry, but I'd like kick Anne's fucking ass. That self-centered bitch doesn't give a rat's ass about anyone but herself. Blaze, honey, you're my hero.

It was a clothing store. I just can't see it being robbed, let alone enough merchandise or money being stolen to warrant closing the store permanently. I suspect they were either using the store as a front or to launder money.

I thought that story was mighty suspicious myself. I'm calling bullshit on that one.

[sara416]

This episode was almost worse than the meth psychosis episode. That one scared me, but this one broke my heart . Someone get Blaze into therapy, stat. No one that young should speak like they are 35.

Lawrence looked terrifying pre-rehab. He was a walking skeleton and that suit made the whole thing even more sad. It probably fit him at one time, but now it just hung. And the fact that he even wore it seemed to be saying that he wanted to put on a good front and be there for his son. It seems like he never really knew how.

I was so impressed by Digger and his maturity in treatment, saying that he couldn't go home. You could tell he wanted to but he just knew it would be bad for him. And it was. I'm so glad he moved away and chose treatment again.

I can't form coherent sentences about Anne. She makes me too angry.

[Christina]

I watched part of this episode a second time, and really feel for Digger. I think my dislike of Anne blocked me a bit the first time. Even sober, I think she'll be a dislike-able, narcissistic person.

 

Between his family history and sexual abuse, there is really no surprise that Digger is an addict. It looks like he is on the right path now, and my well wishes extend to him and Lawrence. The kids will be better off with him remaining in California until his sobriety is more stable, and will be better off with their mom out of their lives until she gets sober and grows up. I really hope they are able to break the cycle of drug abuse and live great lives.  

[Joe Jitsu913]

Is anyone else wondering why the insurance didn't pay up for the robbery of their store? Also, would one robbery, one day, be enough to lose an entire business? Most people pay with debit or credit cards, so how much cash did they lose?

Insurance professional here. There could be numerous reasons the insurer denied the claim altogether or simply paid some of the loss.

They could deny the claim because their policy excluded theft. They could deny it because the theft proved to be fraudulent (faking a robbery in order to collect insurance money). They could have also denied the claim because Digger and his wife wouldn't cooperate with the insurance company or failed to provide necessary paper work (witness statements, police reports, itemized statements).

Or simply, the insurance company paid the claim up to the policy limits. So if they have a low limit on their policy, the insurer is only going to pay out up to that limit and nothing more.

As for Digger (ugh...that name) and the rest of them...I felt like I was watching a True Life episode from 1997. Everyone's style and clothing looked so dated. The family definitely seemed white trash (Digger, Justyce, Blaze etc)

and the only ones I felt sorry for were Blaze and Digger. Just a sad episode all around.

[Zanne505]

Blaze made the episode. Wow. What was she? 11 or 12 years old? WoW.

[Rose Tyler]

I hate the shows with kids most of all. Its like looking into my childhood. Addict parents, aunts, uncles etc.

One of my early memories of my mom is her snorting pills and saying to her friend I only do it in front of my kids, not anyone elses. My siblings have all followed in her footsteps, heroin + pills and prostitution added in.

I hope blaze will be like me. Made to my mid 20s with no drugs or arrest record. *knock on wood I didnt jinx myself*

But as someone up thread mentiones Blaze being angry, it does make me angry as an adult looking back and seeing how messed up every was and continues to be but I used it as motivation to stay sober. I hope she will be able to see the dysfunction for what it is and stay above it.

[crigga]

I loved this episode i agree with most of you Anna looked so fake and wanted so much simpathy from everyone before she went and her wanting Greg in the picture was BS they should have done it for their children , poor blaze I never write comments or follow up on the site but I %u2764%uFE0F the show Blaze looked so young and to be able to be so aware with what her parents where doing was really surprising it looked like she could run the intervention by herself smh joking but the kids should be the reason they went to rehab to get clean I just thought they both were very selfish for waiting this long to try and change. <br /><br />Really proud of digger who needs to change his name now Crigga sounds like a good name to go by %uD83D%uDE09

[StatisticalOutlier]

When your mother tries to convince you that you are loved and not at all abandoned because she has "not nodded off on heroin since November" for your sake, even when that's not even true, it's as f'd up as it gets.

 

I liked that she qualified her not nodding off with, "On purpose."

[smariej92]

This episode just broke my heart.  I was sad for everyone, even Anne, but she was definitely my least favorite.  I was so disappointed that Lawrence went back home and relapsed but it wasn't much of a surprise.  His house and his life was in such bad shape it only makes sense that when he was back in that environment his old behavior picked right back up.  I had such high hopes for he and Digger and the kids.  I hope that Blaze can get through all of this and maybe even help her siblings get through it too.  What an incredible cycle of addiction.  I hope we see a follow-up episode on Digger in the seasons to come.  

[IvySpice]

I didn't like Anne either, but I certainly give her credit for having real trauma. Your mom being a raging alcoholic is enough by itself, plus abandonment, and then being more or less parentless as a teen after moving thousands of miles from where you grew up, and then getting married to an addict at 17/baby at 18...that's a rough story.

 

MAN, those beautiful, smart, loving children with their innocence destroyed...this was painful. Make it, Blaze, make it! Your little sister and brother can support each other. 

[1Love]

Weaverville is a rural town with an hour drive to the nearest city and rampant with drug abusers. Nobody thought those two were the couple to be and never did it come up that she has a child prior to Blaze.

[Nena]

I think Blaze's insight is the direct result of grandma.  She might have hid her past from the grandkids, but I'm sure they heard plenty of her talking about the things the parents need to do, what's going to happen if they don't, etc.  I always laugh when someone says they're hiding the "truth" from the kids.  They might not understand what it all means, but they're absolutely picking up on all of it, even the littlest ones.

[IvySpice]

Wait, Anne has a child older than Blaze? With some other dude, I assume? Where is that child? Let's hope they're being raised in an addiction-free home

[beaker73]

I'm catching up on a backlog of episodes and I just have to say that Blaze is one of the best people I have ever seen on this series. Not the best kid--the best person.  She was amazing.  I'd love to get some sort of follow up on her in a few years.  

[Anneblazesmom31]

On 3/25/2016 at 9:29 AM, Tara Ariano said:

Quote

Husband-and-wife heroin addicts need help, but their situation is complicated by the presence of additional addicts in the family.

So I'm Anne Williams the ex wife of Digger on the A&E intervention if you would like to hear the full story pls email me at butterflyanne24@gmail.co or look me up on facebook Anne Williams: weaverville Ca 96093 finally u can hear the truth nothing but the truth and make a judgement from there k going ahead email me pls

[Tabbygirl521]

On 4/29/2016 at 3:14 PM, beaker73 said:

I'm catching up on a backlog of episodes and I just have to say that Blaze is one of the best people I have ever seen on this series. Not the best kid--the best person.  She was amazing.  I'd love to get some sort of follow up on her in a few years.  

I just watched this ep for the first time. Man. I feel like I would walk through fire for that kid and I don't even know her. She seemed much more connected to her dad so I am especially glad he went back to treatment after his relapse. So sad about Anne and Lawrence. And I gather Greg must not have succeeded either.  Wry. Wry sad.