A Mother's Fight for Compassionate Addiction Treatment
Episode Overview
The importance of understanding addiction beyond personal choice. The impact of institutional failures on addiction treatment. Advocating for harm reduction strategies to save lives. The need for public health approaches over criminal justice solutions. How addiction affects not just the individual but their entire family.
You can't help anybody if the person's dead, but if they're there, you can still address these issues.
In this moving episode of 'New Books in Drugs, Addiction and Recovery', host Marshall Poe welcomes Dr. Patricia Roos to discuss her powerful book, 'Surviving Alex: A Mother's Story of Love, Loss, and Addiction'. Dr. Roos, a professor emerita of sociology at Rutgers University, shares the heart-wrenching story of her son Alex, who tragically died from a heroin overdose at the age of 25.
Her grief turned into a mission to uncover the social and institutional failures that contributed to his death. The episode is a blend of personal narrative and sociological analysis, offering listeners a deep dive into the complexities of addiction and the urgent need for compassionate and effective treatment approaches. Dr. Roos's book combines memoir with sociological case study and policy proposal, challenging the punitive systems that failed her son and advocating for harm reduction strategies.
She shares poignant anecdotes from Alex's life, highlighting the toll addiction takes on individuals and their families. The episode also touches on broader societal issues, such as the stigma surrounding addiction and the need for public health strategies over criminal justice approaches. Dr. Roos's call for a community of action to improve care for substance users is both compelling and hopeful. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in understanding addiction from both a personal and sociological perspective.
It’s a reminder that addiction can affect anyone and that systemic change is needed to support those struggling with substance use disorders.