A mother shares her story about how losing her son to a fentanyl/heroin overdose led her to find solace in writing and teaching creative writing to those battling homelessness.
"Randy had absolutely everything to live for, but he shared one thing in common with my students: Once drugs were introduced into his life, there was nothing that his family, nine times in rehab, house arrest, or a bright future could do to loosen the grasp of heroin and fentanyl."My son Randy died in 2018 from an accidental fentanyl/ heroin overdose . He was 31, engaged and 10 days away from receiving his college degree, with a great job awaiting him.
Friends encouraged me to write about Randy and his addictions, which began in junior high school. They suggested it might shed light on this catastrophic epidemic that is killing a significant part of a generation.I tried to reassemble the pieces of my life and figure out how to move forward. I worried about my other son, Billy, who had lost a brother and had his own grief to deal with while also raising a young family.
Not every addict grows up in a tough situation and ends up on the street. Randy had a carefree suburban childhood with opportunities galore, which wasn’t anything like my students’ experiences. He played sports, had lots of friends and had a stable home life. I believed my boy was safe. They all said the same thing: They were stricken by unbearable grief, they’d tried everything to save their kids, they felt ignored by the medical community at large, and they wanted to do something to stop the deaths.
Grief Addiction Addiction Fentanyl Heroin Overdose Grief Writing Recovery
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