Losing his young son to a drug overdose left him broken. A ‘sacred’ trip to Scotland helped him heal
CNN
After Jim Hartsell’s son died aged just 21 years old, the grieving father took a trip to Scotland in search of answers.
Highland winds lashing his face, architect Jim Hartsell was a long way from his home in Alabama. Alone, utterly drained both physically and emotionally, he was about to do something he had never done before — abandon a round at a Scottish golf course. As Hartsell turned and began the solitary trudge back to the clubhouse at Wick Golf Club, a voice stopped him in his tracks. “Don’t quit, Dad.” The sound of his son, the youngest of three, was as real and tangible as the last remaining ball tucked away in his pocket and yet, it could not be. Three months earlier, in May 2021, Jordan Hartsell had died of an accidental drug overdose. One of the most talented junior golfers in the state, he was just 21 years old. Of the endless questions thrown up for Hartsell by an incomprehensible loss, one loomed above the rest; how could he continue?
