Welcome to Flowers for Zoe - Stories for Dennis, a podcast that invites open and real conversation, often controversial, on the lived experience of substance use and recovery.

In the room we have Zoe, speaking about her years of fentanyl use, and the steps she took to reduce risk, use safely, and how Medically Supported Detox along with rehab and safe supply has helped her quit, and begin a new life.

In the room we have Daniel, her uncle and my brother, who brings the caregiver perspective to helping and supporting loved ones who use - he invites a perspective that challenges caregivers to care differently, and to consider approaches such as harm reduction and radical compassionate support as helpful to supporting a loved ones recovery journey.

My name is Lara and I am Zoe’s aunt and Daniel’s sister.  I am a licensed clinical therapist & supervisor and I specialize in the area of mental health and substance use.  I provide a clinical perspective to this conversation.

Together, we share our family’s story, our lived experience with addiction, and we discuss it through each of these roles.

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Hi everybody, my name is Zoe.  Thanks for joining us as we talk about my recovery journey.  I want to share with you what’s behind the name of this podcast.  ‘Flowers for Zoe’ represents the dreams my dad had for me.  Each flower represents a goal on my 5 Year Plan to get my life back.

‘Stories for Dennis’ are the updates I have for my dad.  If my dad had a safe space to speak on this topic, I feel he would have had a lot to say about it.  But my dad didn’t experience safety in sharing his story.  My hope is that this podcast will help us find a better way.

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Hello everybody, my name is Daniel.  We couldn't save our brother, but we saved his daughter, and now we want to share that story in hopes to help just one more person deal with this deadly epidemic.