“My son Nicholas was 31 years old when, after a struggle with addiction including opioids, he died of a fatal heroin overdose. For years, he struggled with his addiction—but he wanted to be free of it. ‘Mom,’ he said, ‘I just want a normal life.’ When he eventually tried to get treatment on his own at an emergency room, he was told he would have to detox on his own. I received the call that no parent wants to receive on the night of February 15, 2015. It was a social worker from the hospital that Nick had always gone to to seek help. She wanted to know if I knew that Nick was at the hospital, had been brought in by ambulance. I told her no, I wasn't aware. She then handed me over to the treating physician. I asked him if he was telling me that Nick had not survived. That Nick had died. Five days later, I delivered a eulogy at his funeral. It’s important to me that I share Nick’s story because addiction does not need to end in death. We have the technology, and the knowledge, to trea...