Patricia Roos was a sociology professor at Rutgers University when she lost her 25-year-old son, Alex, to a heroin overdose. In the aftermath of that loss, she redirected her life’s work by examining the systemic forces that fuel addiction and the shortcomings of how the nation responds to the overdose crisis, particularly the heavy reliance on the criminal justice system.
Her new book, Surviving Alex: A Mother’s Story of Love, Loss, and Addiction, weaves together her personal story and professional expertise. Through it, she examines how stigma, inequity and a lack of compassion within our health care and treatment systems can lead to devastating outcomes — and how we can begin to do better.
In this episode of Grieving Out Loud, Patricia shares her journey as both a mother and a researcher, what she learned while desperately trying to help her son, and how she’s using her voice to call for systemic change and a more compassionate response to substance use disorder.
If you enjoyed this episode, check out the following:
- He Saw a Gap in Addiction Treatment and Decided to Do Something About It
- Investigative Reporter Uncovers Abuse and Profit in Rehab Programs
- ‘The ugliest, biggest elephant in the room:’ Confronting addiction as a disease
- A mother’s urgent message on mental health and addiction
MEET THE GUEST
Patricia Roos
Patricia Roos is Professor Emerita of Sociology at Rutgers University. After losing her son Alex to a heroin overdose in 2015, she turned her focus toward mental health and substance use advocacy. She is the author of Surviving Alex: A Mother’s Story of Love, Loss, and Addiction, published by Rutgers University Press in 2024, and lives in Washington, DC.
