I am personally affected by the article that appeared in the May 17 The Citizen (“A letter to a dead addict”).
The headline made me cringe. The writer squarely put the burden on the young woman who died: “Well, you did it. You’re dead.”
That statement alone stirred my compassion for the young woman and prompted me to respond.
On behalf of my son and thousands like him who died of an opioid overdose, I believe this type of negative commentary only serves to perpetuate the shame and stigma surrounding drug and alcohol addiction and overdose deaths.
No one denigrates in newspaper articles a diabetic who can’t help but eat sweets, a heart attack patient who eats poorly and doesn’t exercise, a cancer patient who smoked cigarettes.
Science proves that addiction is a disease, and therefore NOT a moral failing. I would never let anyone write an article about my son that characterized him in any way other than the wonderful human being he was.
We mothers who have lost a child to overdose call it Share without Shame.
There are many sources one can go to educate themselves about the opioid epidemic: Georgia Overdose Prevention, Shatterproof, GRASP, TAMS, Facing Addiction, Brett Bramble Walks and Fed Up, to name a few.
I welcome contact through the Healing Hearts grief support group on Facebook.
Theresa Williams
Fayetteville, Ga.
