09/01/2026
💜 International Overdose Awareness Day 💜
Today is a day to remember.
Not statistics.
Not numbers.
Not headlines.
People.
People who had favorite songs, favorite foods, inside jokes, dreams, families, friends, and so much more life left to live.
Today, I’m thinking about the people who should still be here. The empty chairs at family gatherings. The birthdays celebrated without them. The phone calls that will never come. The memories that somehow become both a comfort and a heartbreak.
And I’m thinking about the families left behind—because an overdose doesn't take just one life. Its impact reaches everyone who loved that person.
But I also want today to be about the people who are still here.
If you are struggling with addiction, please hear this:
You are not your addiction.
You are not your worst mistake.
You are not beyond saving.
Asking for help doesn't make you weak. Starting over doesn't make you a failure. Recovery doesn't have to be perfect—it just has to start somewhere.
And if you've relapsed, please don't convince yourself that you've ruined everything. You are still worth fighting for.
There are people who want you here.
There are families who would rather have you struggling and healing than gone forever.
There is still time to write a different ending.
Today, I remember the people we've lost.
I hold space for the families carrying that loss.
I stand beside those still fighting.
And I celebrate every person who has found their way into recovery.
For those we've lost: your lives mattered. Your names matter. Your stories matter. You are not forgotten. 💜
For those still struggling: please stay. Please reach out. Please give yourself another chance.
And for anyone who has lost someone to an overdose—I'm sorry for the empty space they left behind.
Remember the ones we've lost.
Protect the ones we still have.
Fight for the ones who are struggling.
And never stop believing that recovery is possible. 💜
