An estimated 150,000 people per year try heroin, most of them are under the age of 26 and relative newbies to drugs. The stories of those within these jaw-dropping numbers are the tether needed to wrap our collective minds around this problem. Author Jude Hassan's memoir, Suburban Junky: From Honor Roll, to Heroin Addict, is a personal account of his journey from a smart, well-loved kid with great potential to a fear-filled addict and how he found his way back.
In Suburban Junky, Hassan was the last kid anyone would imagine a junkie. He had loving and attentive parents, was a great student, his father was a drug counselor; he knew all he was supposed to know. When his family moved to the suburbs just in time for freshman year, Hassan was more lonely than ever, shy and eating lunch alone. When a boy his age finally approached him and offered him drugs, it was all it took.
Though he knew better and had all the tools to resist, his desire to fit in became an unhealthy obsession. Hassan quickly went from smoking pot to experimenting with other drugs. He eventually landing on heroin. It took an enforced detox in a jail cell and his father's cancer to give him the will to climb out of the deep, dark hole he'd lived in for six years.
About the Author
Jude Hassan was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and lives there to this day with his wife and son. Jude published his memoir, Suburban Junky, following the loss of his dear friend to addiction. Along with his role as a speaker and mentor to those seeking help with substance abuse, Jude works at Preferred Family Healthcare in St. Louis assisting addicts as they begin the treatment process. Jude's story has garnered both local and national attention due to its relevance to today's heroin and opiate epidemic.
No comments:
Post a Comment