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This week, a new novel about two girls and an astronomy textbook draws inspiration from one of the quietest places in West Virginia. Also, author Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle talks about growing up as part of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. And, a Kentucky tattoo artist practices traditional tattooing and traditional music. He says they’re not too different.
America has faced a pandemic, a polarizing election and racial equity battles in the past year. But there’s been another crisis continuing to fester — the opioid epidemic. Deaths are up with more than 1,200 West Virginians dying from overdoses last year. The fight for sobriety now deals with its own tragic divide — When is someone sober?
The road to recovery comes in many forms. For some abstinence works. But others, especially those addicted to opiates, find they need help to get off of such powerful drugs. For their recovery they turn to medication-assisted treatment. That approach has split the treatment world and created a stigma around sobriety.
This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, the CRC Foundation and the West Virginia Humanities Council.
Subscribe to Us & Them on Apple Podcasts, NPR One, RadioPublic, Spotify, Stitcher and beyond. You also can listen to Us & Them on WVPB Radio — tune in tonight, June 24, at 8 p.m., or listen to the encore presentation on the following Saturday at 3 p.m.
Trey Kay
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The Clarksburg Mission is a Christian-centered treatment facility located in Clarksburg, W.Va. that supports people in either abstinence-based or medication assisted substance use disorder recovery.
Trey Kay
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The neon cross outside the Clarksburg Mission delivers a simple, straightforward message as to the spiritual underpinnings of their recovery program.
Trey Kay
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Lou Ortenzio is executive director of the Clarksburg Mission, Clarksburg, W.Va.
Trey Kay
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Melissa Carter is recovery coach here at the Clarksburg Mission in Clarksburg, W.Va.
Trey Kay
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Angela Knight is a program manager at the Clarksburg Mission, Clarksburg, W. Va.
Jennifer Shephard/Jennifer Shephard
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West Virginia University
Dr. James Berry, Director of WVU Medicine’s Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship
Gabriella Dahalia-Jarrett
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Gabriella Dahalia-Jarrett with her “murphing” dog Sid.
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This week, a new novel about two girls and an astronomy textbook draws inspiration from one of the quietest places in West Virginia. Also, author Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle talks about growing up as part of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. And, a Kentucky tattoo artist practices traditional tattooing and traditional music. He says they’re not too different.
A new young adult novel titled "The Secret Astronomers" captures a slice of life in Pocahontas County, West Virginia. This debut novel by author Jessica Walter tells the story of a friendship between two high school students as they unravel a decades-old mystery. Inside Appalachia host Mason Adams spoke with Walker before the book was released a few months ago.
For many rural families, the nearest delivery room is getting farther away. Since 2020, 124 rural hospitals have stopped delivering babies or announced plans to close their obstetric and delivery units. In this encore Us & Them, Trey Kay hears from families navigating the risks — and asks what it means for the future of their communities.