A Love Story from the Opioid Epidemic with Kate O’Neill
In October 2018, a young Vermont mom named Madelyn Linsenmeir died after a long struggle with addiction. Her obituary went viral and was read by millions of people around the world. Madelyn’s sister, writer Kate O’Neill, shares her family’s experience loving and losing Maddie, the stories of other Vermonters impacted by this disease, and potential solutions to the crisis. Kate O’Neill is a writer currently working on a yearlong series about the opioid epidemic for Seven Days newspaper and a memoir about her sister, who struggled with opioid addiction for more than a decade. She lives in Philadelphia with her partner and stepdaughter. The Vermont Humanities Council’s First Wednesdays series is held on the first Wednesday of every month from October through May in nine communities statewide, featuring speakers of national and regional renown. The statewide underwriter for the First Wednesdays 2019-2020 series is the Institute of Museum & Library Services through the Vermont Department of Libraries. The First Wednesdays 2019-2020 series in Brattleboro is underwritten by Chroma Technology Corp
