Stephanie Wittels Wachs and the Pain and Frustration of Watching Addiction Happen

Hi, folks. John Moe here. I knew about Stephanie Wittels Wachs for quite a while before I met her but correctly figured I’d get to know her one of these days. That’s because our stories have an awful lot of overlap. We’re both writer, we both host podcasts, I live in the Twin Cities and her company, Lemonada, is based here, and most importantly, we both lost our brothers. Lost them twice, really. First to addiction, at which they became different people. Someone in the grip of an addiction exists to get more of the substance and their personal relationships are secondary to that. From there, I lost my brother Rick to suicide, Steph lost her brother, the well-known and successful comedy writer Harris Wittels to an overdose.

Looking back on it, I think I was nervous to read what she had written about Harris because I’d be overwhelmed.

And yes, we finally did meet up and became instant friends. And I read what she wrote, of course, and I was comforted by the similarities and the differences. Mostly, I was comforted that in this hell of grief and loss, I was able to find someone in the same kind of hell. Someone who could say, “Man, it’s so hot!”

Listen to Last Day here or wherever podcasts are found. Get your copy of Everything is Horrible and Wonderful: A Tragicomic Memoir of Genius, Heroin, Love and Loss here or wherever books are sold. Follow Stephanie on Twitter @wittelstephanie and on Instagram @wittelstephanie.

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The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALK

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