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. 


Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly
members of Maximum Fun. 


Hey, remember, you’re part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear
what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you
like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at
depreshmode@maximumfun.org.


Help is available right away.


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


Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.


International suicide hotline numbers available
here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines


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John's acclaimed memoir, The Hilarious World of Depression, is
available
here. https://read.macmillan.com/lp/the-hilarious-world-of-depression/


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John is on Twitter @johnmoe.