LYNN, Mass. (AP) – Sharon Johnson calls herself an addict, although she's been sober for three years now. She started by smoking pot and eventually moved to crack cocaine. Her daughter has tried heroin and "I believe I'm going to pull her out of the gutter someday," Johnson laments.
Johnson has seen firsthand the ravages of drug abuse reflected in a national Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll. Whether it's alcohol or illegal drugs such as heroin and cocaine, a majority of Americans say it's a problem and that more needs to be done to address it.
"Miracles From Heaven" finished its first weekend in the No. 3 spot at the box office, bringing in $1.9 million on opening day and, more important to Christy Beam, a message of "hope and encouragement" to its audiences.
Beam is the real-life mom played in the film by Jennifer Garner. And "Miracles From Heaven" shares her family's story: how her middle daughter, Annabel, was diagnosed with an incurable digestive disorder, how the 10-year-old fell three stories into an old, hollowed out tree and how — spoiler alert — she experienced a miraculous healing.
