This holiday season, like many other families who have lost someone to drugs, alcohol, or suicide, I am heartbroken. I miss my little sister Jenny, who died last year from prescription opioids and alcoholism. I am grateful for all that I have. But mostly I feel guilty, knowing I failed my sister in every way a person can.

I go through the motions of the holidays this year, spending many evenings at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., which is magical at Christmas. Live music fills a small but grand lobby that is dominated by a 20-foot Christmas tree with blinking white lights and hundreds of gold ornaments and red ribbons. Nightly performers range from professional groups like the Congressional Chorus to local school and community choirs.