Northern Public Radio

Donate

Play Live Radio

Next Up:

0:00

0:00 0:00

Available On Air Stations

Today (October 23rd), our LaSalle broadcast signal will be undergoing tower work and will be off the air. Thanks for your patience as we complete this work, and while our 91.3 FM signal is off the air. You can always listen here on our website or on our WNIJ mobile app.

Reflecting on the indescribable pain and questions from losing a loved one to a drug overdose

WBUR | By Martha Bebinger

Published August 6, 2025 at 10:49 AM CDT

The author's nephew as a child, leaping off of a jetski into the water. (Courtesy Martha Bebinger)

WBUR’s Martha Bebinger lost her nephew, Austen Smith, to a drug overdose last year. In this essay, she describes the pain and questions that linger.

____

Caleb Green and André Peralta composed and performed the music for this segment. Green also mixed it for broadcast.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Martha Bebinger

See stories by Martha Bebinger