NAMI Four County will offer a free program on substance use disorder starting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, October 3 at Emanuel Lutheran Church, 810 Scott Street, Napoleon, as part of Mental Illness Awareness Week.
The program will focus on the power of lived experience and what persons in recovery or their loved ones have learned, but wish they had known sooner during their journey with addiction.
Sue Gerken, Napoleon author of The Monster Among Us, will talk about her book, which takes a candid look at the harsh reality of the drug epidemic in the United States.
Through a series of interviews with recovering addicts, and loved ones of users, Gerken exposes the challenges and frustrations of those affected by abuse, while offering advice, wisdom and hope from those who have lived through this nightmare.
She will have copies of the book for sale.
The event will also include representatives from several area support groups: Finding Our Way in Napoleon, Strength in Numbers in Wauseon, and Never Let Go in Edgerton.