Heroin’s Puppet: The Rehab Journals of Amelia F.W. Caruso (1989-2009) Audiobook (Free)

Amy Caruso was a junior in the medical plan at Boston University and seemed to have everything choosing her–brains, beauty, athleticism, career goals, a caring family, and many wonderful friends. But in November 2009, she accepted she was a heroin addict and voluntarily moved into treatment. Five weeks later she died from an overdose at the procedure facility on the day after Christmas, weeks shy of her twenty-first birthday.

“Melissa Weiksnar’s detailed and bravely honest account from the years about Heroin’s Puppet: The Rehab Journals of Amelia F.W. Caruso (1989-2009) leading up to her daughter’s tragic death brings true understanding into the problems and angst of parenting a kid suffering from dependency. Amy’s words and spirit can be experienced through her journal entries and allow readers to immerse themselves within your brain of a person battling to get sober. This story is ammunition towards fighting the stereotype from the ‘regular’ addict and it is proof that neither a adoring family members, education nor socioeconomic position can save a person through the powerful grasp of craving. May this reserve help others to discover meaning in their losses and increase awareness about the very best ways to support someone you care about with an cravings.” — Sarah Allen Benton, M.S., LMHC, therapist and author of Understanding the High-Functioning Alcoholic.

Melissa Weiksnar attended Wellesley University and is a graduate of MIT, Harvard Business School, and the University or college of Houston. After two decades in the high-technology industry, she changed professions to high-school teaching. Since Amy died, Melissa has been telling Amy’s story to school, college, community, and religious groups to help others know how addiction is an equal chance disease. She and her hubby have two teenagers and live in Massachusetts.