Please note that I have changed or not disclosed the names of some people mentioned in this book to protect their identities and their privacy. I have obscured some locations for this purpose as well. I recognize that this is a story of a small piece of the social services landscape in central Ohio. There are other organizations and people working to combat the overdose crisis who are not mentioned and who do not always get the light they deserve. My intention in this book is to show how a group of people in one place—people who have often been absent from our public conversations about this ongoing tragedy—have experienced the overdose crisis. I have also provided extensive research and resources in the endnotes, especially concerning the drug war and substance use disorder. I urge readers to take advantage of them.
Finally, I have tried to use person-first language when writing. In dialogue in which people are speaking to one another or to me, I stayed true to the language they used. Person-first language is an important intervention for combating the stigma associated with substance use disorder. Health in Justice at the Northeastern University School of Law has produced an excellent resource called “Changing the Narrative” (changingthenarrative.news) not only for understanding person-first language but also for addressing some of the inaccuracies in reporting and public perception of drug use and the overdose crisis. I admit that in the past I failed on this point on many occasions in my own writing, and I am now appreciative of the people who created this resource.