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On Vérité


Thank you for listening. For show ideas, please email gaguilar@candescoproductions.com

Jul 25, 2016

Interview by Giovanna Aguilar for my podcast On Vérité.

Between 2000 and 2014 about half a million people died in the United States from drug overdoses. 2014 went on record as the year of the most drug-overdose deaths, most of them (6 out of 10) due to opioids.

Every day 78 Americans die from opioid overdoses.

Behind these statistics of our national health epidemic, as reported by the CDC, there are real, personal stories of families coping with the loss of a family member.

I invite you to listen to an interview with Linda Lajterman who shares with us her profound story of having lost her son Danny (19) to a drug overdose, and how she hopes the message in her book, Life After You -What Your Death from Drugs Leaves Behind, can help open up conversations among families and our youth to prevent others from losing their loved ones to drugs.

Shortly after her son’s death, Linda wrote a poignant letter “Dear Friends,” and although it was intended for her local community, it touched the hearts and opened up the minds of thousands of addicts and their families all around the world. The tremendous connection that so many people had to her story inspired her to write the book that presents a sobering yet very visual picture of death from a drug overdose, such as in Chapter 5 “Your Death” and Chapter 6 “Your Funeral. Moreover, Linda underscores the point that none of us should ever say or think, “Drugs and my Kid? Never!”

It can happen to anyone because addiction does not discriminate.

Linda is a member of the Family Advocacy Partnership (FAP), created by Steven Rogers, the Commissioner of Nutley, NJ who invited me to facilitate this much needed support and resource group to help families directly affected by drug addition by connecting them to each other.

Linda can be reached at www.lifeafteryoubook.com, and Facebook Life After You -What Your Death from Drugs Leaves Behind -  and Twitter at Lajterman23.

 

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Kathie Grosso
almost eight years ago

A jolt into a reality we all hope to avoid. Linda's point about the type of substance abuse education kids really need is right on. She makes it abundantly clear that traditional curricula for substance abuse has little impact on behaviors. Kudos to the towns who are listening to her message.