This extraordinary narrative that meticulously weaves together text, stunning audio production and haunting illustration dives into how far one woman is going to try to keep the people she cares about alive in the era of fentanyl, the drug driving fatal overdoses to record levels in the U.S. It’s the story of what happens every day in some bathrooms, bedrooms and kitchens, where family members monitor loved ones using illegal drugs so they can respond if the person overdoses.
Parents do this in secret because they’re ashamed of the drug use, or worried they’ll be blamed for enabling it or face legal repercussions. This is the first time, to our knowledge, that a reporter documented an overdose prevention project in someone’s home, interviewed participants and published a detailed account of the experiences.
Earning trust was an essential part of how this story came to exist. Often, the reporter would hear – off the record, in conversations that felt like confessions — that they’d let a grown child use illegal drugs in a family home to avoid the tragedies other parents face of discovering their loved one after it was too late. It took years to find a parent who would speak on the record.
The central figure in this singular online story and two-part radio series is a mom we agreed to call Renae. The story tracks Renae’s evolution from a parent who thought she could force her daughter to stop using drugs, to one who starts supplying her daughter with clean needles (and other harm-reduction supplies). Ultimately, it focuses on how Renae went even further, supervising illegal drug use in her home in an effort to keep her daughter and others alive, and offer treatment when they are ready.
Renae says what she does isn’t unusual: “I’m just one of the few parents willing to talk about it.”
There are many stories about formal overdose prevention clinics, where trained staff monitor drug use, but these stories often focus on legal and other controversies explaining the latest court decision, study or legislative battle. The fact that parents and other family members do an informal version of this is rarely mentioned.
This series offers a unique and compelling view of the drug overdose crisis, made more accessible and complete with sensitively crafted and evocative illustrations. It allowed readers to get a realistic sense of the stakes and characters’ actions, while prioritizing their safety and privacy.
The story immerses readers and listeners in the work of one mom who is taking risks she would never have considered taking before her daughter’s addiction. And it shines a light on Renae’s sole mission: to keep her daughter and others alive.
The story was part of our ongoing coverage of addiction and the overdose crisis, airing both nationally on NPR and locally on Radio Boston. It was translated into Spanish by our partner, El Planeta to expand its reach and ease access to our journalism.
