What I Hold Sacred

Authors

Jessie Hakala, Utah State University

Files

Illustrator

Katie Zaman and Annabelle Potvin

Description

This is a true story based on Jessie’s journey through substance use disorder and recovery. Jessie developed an opioid use disorder when she needed pain pills for a back injury. When Jessie became pregnant with her second child, she tried to quit cold-turkey, but started again after he was born. She went to rehab, but wasn’t given information about medications for addiction treatment or harm reduction. She returned to use and started using heroin, which led to her husband kicking her out. Jessie’s use spiraled, and she became homeless, enduring assault and loss, until she finally ended up in jail. Jessie found strength in sharing her story and is now in long term recovery, using her experiences to help others struggling with substance use disorder.

Publisher

Utah State University

ISBN

978-1-958416-05-1

Publication Date

12-2022

Keywords

harm reduction, stigma, comic, opioid use disorder

Recommended Citation

Hakala, Jessie, "What I Hold Sacred" (2022). Voices of Resiliency: Utah Stories of Substance Use Disorder, Stigma, & Harm Reduction. 5.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/harmreductioncomics/5

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.