The following story was contributed by Mary Beth Young, as told to Julie Andersen. Young, who owns The Pilates Advantage in Wilton, is holding a fundraiser for Laurel House in honor of her son Colin, who died of an overdose in 2021. She is sharing their story to raise awareness and remove the stigma around addiction and overdose. Information about the event can be found at the end of this story.
Addiction is silent suffering. The rollercoaster of emotions may be too difficult to explain — fear, hope, despair, recovery, relapse and back around again. The courage to share is often silenced by the stigma and judgment that permeates. The silence is deafening yet addiction continues to take its toll — in the US, overdoses were the number one cause of accidental death last year according to the CDC.