Addiction is a complex disease, and there’s no guidebook for how to navigate it. Today’s guest on Grieving Out Loud knows that reality all too well.
Leslie Collins struggled with substance use disorder for years before finding recovery. But as she began to rebuild her life, her son started down the same devastating path.
Leslie tried everything she could think of to help him fight the disease, but nothing seemed to work. In the end, she made the difficult decision to try something she hadn’t before, tough love. He died shortly after.
Now, through her grief, Leslie is working to raise awareness about fentanyl and prevent other families from experiencing the same loss. She’s now in her fifth year of hosting the Jolly 10K Fentanyl Awareness Fun Run.
In this episode, Leslie shares her powerful story, the hard lessons she’s learned about addiction, and what she wishes she had known sooner.
Learn more about the Jolly10k Fundraiser here.
Related episodes:
- A TV Anchor Shares Her Loss to Overdose and Efforts to End Stigma
- How to Live With Grief, Not Be Defined By It
- ‘The ugliest, biggest elephant in the room:’ Confronting addiction as a disease
MEET THE GUEST
Leslie Collins
Leslie Collins lost her son Jolly to fentanyl at just 22 years old while he was trying to detox at a recovery home. In his memory, she founded the Jolly10K Fentanyl Awareness Fun Run, an event dedicated to educating communities about the dangers of fentanyl, providing resources and solutions, and honoring those who have been lost. With 14 years in recovery herself, Leslie brings both a mother’s grief and a survivor’s hope to everything she does, living proof that there is life on the other side of substance use disorder.
