Not Far from Me: Stories of Opioids and Ohio ed. by Berkeley Franz and Daniel Skinner (review)

While the number of publications on the “opioid epidemic” has grown exponentially in the last decade, those that sensationalize and stigmatize still tend to outnumber those committed to an honest portrayal. Not Far from Me, an edited collection of essays, poems, and printed artwork, offers a broad and diverse variety of voices from all over Ohio. The book is intent on making sense of, challenging, and, most importantly, contributing new perspectives to the existing narrative about the state’s intense ongoing battle with addiction. With so much of the conversation about Ohio as the epicenter of the opioid crisis wrapped within tropes of Rust Belt economic hardship, unscrupulous doctors, and family dysfunction, even sympathetic narratives obscure individuals’ realities. Whether Ohioans are villainized or victimized, their agency gets forgotten in the process. Berkeley Franz and Daniel Skinner allow stories to speak for themselves. Their collection marshals the perspectives of over fifty participants, including recovered users, their families, healthcare workers, activists, and law enforcement, to provide a more comprehensive picture than any one author could offer. Although a long fight remains, this collection does not simply show a tidal wave of destruction crashing over dying communities. Not Far from Me reveals that so many of those affected are hard at work reflecting and doing what they can to combat this crisis.

Five parts comprise the collection. “Establishing Place” introduces readers to the myriad places (physical and metaphorical) that have come to know opioid addiction and that serve as safe havens. Founders of recovery houses, including one faith-based facility and one LGBTQ+ facility, offer their wisdom. An elementary school principal from the city of Belpre tells of her staff ’s admirable efforts to ensure that students thrive in a safe environment. “Processing Loss” contains some of the book’s most heartwrenching stories, many from the loved ones of overdose victims. Loss, however, involves more than death. People have also lost years, relationships, financial stability, and in some cases, freedom, as they serve prison sentences for drug-related crimes. “Making Sense” gives contributors a platform to explain why the epidemic is occurring and what it all means. Cincinnati activist Michael Henson dubs it an “Utterly Preventable Crisis,” citing pharmaceutical corporations’ many injustices dating back to at least the 1990s. “Devising Solutions” provides a glimpse at several unique efforts across Ohio, including mobile pharmacies for underserved rural communities and medical professionals’ commitment to stopping overprescription. “Challenging Assumptions” caps off the previous chapters by challenging overly simplistic narratives. Addiction can befall children raised in a “good family,” one contributor explains (239). Cities such as Portsmouth that have received negative national attention, Traci Molloy writes, are also supporting their young artists’ creative expression to make meaning out of tragedy.

Not Far from Me surprises the reader by illustrating the sheer number of things that Ohioans are doing to handle this crisis: grieving, praying, collecting data, innovating, publishing, educating, organizing, volunteering, and, as several chapters contend, surviving. Experienced contributors offer information on various types of medically assisted treatments and youth programs, as well as trouble with accessing them. They also offer a sprinkling of statistics that reveal the magnitude of the problem. For instance, the number of newborns diagnosed with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome rose from 199 in 2004 to 2,174 in 2015. Yet numbers tend to conceal the individuals they represent. As Dayton mayor Nan Whaley put it, “stories make it real” (47).

Ohioans have erected a massive addiction infrastructure to fight a problem for which no one person can take blame. Yet this herculean undertaking is a stark reminder of the comparable inaction on previous epidemics, such as HIV/AIDS. Likewise, discrimination against marginalized communities persists, as Yvonka Marie Hall, the director of the Northeast Ohio Black Health Coalition, points out in her piece. Although the crisis began with irresponsible drug manufacturers and prescribers, everyone has become familiar with the problem, sometimes on very personal, devastating levels.

The diversity...