Kevin McEnroe was still in addiction treatment when his sister called with news that their mother, Tatum O’Neal, might not survive. He suddenly faced decisions about her care while trying to sustain his own recovery.
“In helping my mom, I started to believe I could be a better man,” he told PEOPLE in an interview published November 4. The 40-year-old writer is the eldest child of the Oscar-winning actress and tennis great John McEnroe.
Now seven years sober, Kevin is writing about his family’s history of addiction in his Substack newsletter, Serenity Side Down. He is also working on a memoir, addressing experiences he once felt pressure to keep private.
Both parents contributed to the interview. O’Neal praised her son’s honesty, while John acknowledged that some passages were painful to read as a father. Still, he said he was glad Kevin had found work that helped him feel more complete.
Kevin Spent a Month in the Hospital With Liver Failure
Kevin McEnroe Calls Writing about Addiction, Nearly Dying and His Mom Tatum O’Neal ‘Life-Saving’ (Exclusive) https://t.co/6UiOmtjHG1
— People (@people) November 4, 2026
Kevin began drinking in high school and taking prescription painkillers in college. He recalled that the pills quieted the negative thoughts that had troubled him. He later worked nights as a bartender while writing fiction, securing his first publishing deal in 2014.
A dinner with his father to celebrate that deal ended with Kevin mistaking John’s concern for disappointment. He left, bought drugs and was arrested that night, an experience that became tabloid news. He entered rehabilitation, and PEOPLE’s reporting the following year confirmed that the charges were eventually dismissed.
He remained sober during treatment but started drinking again after leaving. Over the following years, his substance use escalated to include heroin. His father recalled arriving at Kevin’s apartment to find alcohol bottles everywhere and his son unable to stand. Rather than insist on another immediate trip to rehab, John hugged him and told him he loved him.
In October 2019, a woman Kevin was dating persuaded him to seek medical help. He spent approximately a month hospitalized with liver failure, and doctors told him he might need a transplant. His condition eventually stabilized enough for him to return to treatment.
Tatum O’Neal’s 2020 Overdose Left Her in a Coma
Emily McEnroe called her brother in May 2020 after their mother suffered an overdose and a stroke. Kevin spent the following month fielding updates about her condition. He became her medical proxy, responsible for helping make difficult decisions as her recovery slowly began.
The responsibility came after years of worrying about O’Neal as a child. Kevin remembered nights when she left home and did not return before her children woke up. His parents separated in 1992, beginning a prolonged custody dispute, and O’Neal relinquished custody in 1998 as her drug use worsened.
His own experience with addiction eventually helped him understand and forgive behavior he had struggled to comprehend growing up. He said that shared understanding now allows them to speak without shame. O’Neal continues recovering from her stroke and told PEOPLE she has been sober for two years.
Kevin’s Essays Describe Learning to Set Boundaries With His Mother
Family history had already informed his fiction. His debut novel, Our Town, was published in 2015 and fictionalized the life of his maternal grandmother, actress Joanna Moore, who also struggled with addiction. His recent essays address his own experiences more directly.
In a February 9 essay for Literary Hub, Kevin described the anxiety he still felt when his mother was unhappy with him and the difficulty of refusing requests, including buying her vapes. He wrote about trying to help her without allowing her mood to determine his own, or taking it personally when she rejected his help.
He has also given O’Neal space to answer questions herself. In a July 7 installment of his newsletter on Substack, he published her responses to readers’ questions about addiction and hope. Asked what had driven her substance use, she said, “I was homeless in my heart.” Kevin explained that he had lightly edited the exchange for readability while trying to preserve her voice.
Tatum O’Neal Gave a Speech at Kevin’s Wedding to Fern Cozine
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Kevin married actress Fern Cozine on June 14, 2025, at a ranch in Calistoga, California, in Napa Valley. The couple now live in Kingston, New York, with their dog, Sunday.
His father and stepmother, singer Patty Smyth, attended alongside O’Neal. The reception included cocktails and alcohol-free drinks, with Cozine telling Vogue she wanted guests who were sober to have equally appealing choices.
O’Neal thanked John and Patty in her speech and described her hopes for the future. “She was brave and gracious and I was proud of her for doing so,” Kevin told the magazine.