Kathy Wagner in conversation with Anneliese Kamola, Here with You

Told with compassion and insight, Here with You is a story about how addiction tore a family apart and how they came back together through shared love and a deep commitment to learning a better way. Timely and honest, it will resonate with those struggling with substance abuse, their families and anyone who wants to better understand the impact of the current drug toxicity crisis.

"Written with novelistic skill, Kathy Wagner's vivid and moving memoir depicts how trauma, unrecognized, can blight a family across generations and culminate in tragedy, even in the face of fierce and abiding parental love. And, miraculously, how out of tragedy can arise the redemptive blessing of healing and compassion."

—Gabor Maté MD, CM, author of The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness and Healing in a Toxic Culture

Kathy Wagner is the mother of three grown children, including her son Tristan who died from fentanyl poisoning in August 2017. Her essays have appeared in the New York Times, The Sun Magazine, and the Globe and Mail. Since her son's death, Kathy has advocated for improved addiction support services and was a facilitator for Healing Hearts Canada, where she provided support for people who lost loved ones to drug harms. Kathy's wish is to bring hope to parents who live in the shadow of their child's addiction or are struggling with a child's drug-related death. You can find her online @kwagnerwrites.

Anneliese Kamola is an author, developmental editor, and writing coach living on the traditional land of the Lummi and Nooksack people, what is now known as Bellingham, WA. She has studied storytelling in different forms for over 25 years via writing, editing, and publication; coaching and teaching; oral storytelling and dance; and theater production and performance. Anni continues to circle back and back to the through-thread of the body, lineage, and the stories our bodies hold, live, and tell. Anni is a current candidate for a MFA in Creative Writing at Western Washington University, and her memoir is underway.

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