What a Mother Learned Along the Way

Tell Me It’s Gonna Be Alright is A Story of Discovery Providing New Insights About Addiction, Understanding and Compassion.

Beverly Makar has devoted thirty years to teaching inner-city special education children. In addition to this book, her passions include spending time with her amazing grandson and her senior golden retriever.

Mathew Makar was known as an insightful writer, devoted dad, and political activist. The depth of his soul and all that he was shines through every page.

Introduction

It’s hard to believe it’s been four years since Matthew’s fatal overdose. How is it possible that Matt’s life journey took him from an endearing little boy who wrote Happy Mother’s Day songs, to a discouraged, drug-addicted, twenty-eight-year-old young man who wrote about how lost he felt?

These lyrics, discovered on Matt’s phone after his passing, were dated just three weeks prior. 

“Just Feel so Lost in Life, Like a Stray Dog 

With no Owner In Sight. 

I Need Someone who Understands,

Gives Less Advice, Need Someone who’s Felt the Same Way, to Tell Me it’s Gonna Be Alright.”

—“Just Feel So Lost in Life”

How simply stated are Matt’s words; yet they say so much. His emotional turmoil is clearly felt through words, which have forever penetrated my soul. So much of what Matt needed, and what all addicts need, can be found within his sentiment. 

Matt’s words have the power to speak straight to the hearts of hurting souls. Due to his poetic craft and pearls of wisdom, woven into every page, it is clear why he was often referred to as an old soul.

His intimate reflections will help anyone struggling in life to feel like they are not alone throughout their darkest moments. It will be difficult for many to read his words without thinking, Wow, that’s exactly how I feel or have felt!

His loose writings were kept in an expandable filing organizer. It consisted of personal lyrics written on loose-leaf paper, in addition to six, worn-out and coffee-stained composition notebooks. They also held phone numbers, appointments, work schedules, passwords, email addresses, and drawings. Matt’s daily navigation system contained in these notebooks was his lifeline. 

His words also poured out on Facebook, Instagram, Myspace, and YouTube. Between various social media posts, lyrics on his cell phone, and raps downloaded onto my computer, the task of finding all of his writings felt endless.

When I came across Matt’s words, “Don’t want to be another nobody when I die, want more than 1 person to remember me,” I was hit over the head. And it was as clear as could be. I instantly knew that I had to publish his lyrics. It became my mission. Deep down I knew that’s what he would have wanted. 

Beverly Makar