Amy Caruso was a junior in the nursing program at Boston College and seemed to have everything going for her—brains, beauty, athleticism, career goals, a loving family, and many wonderful friends. But in November of 2009, she admitted she was a heroin addict and voluntarily entered treatment. Five weeks later, she died from an overdose at the treatment facility on the day after Christmas, weeks shy of her twenty-first birthday.
Melissa Weiksnar wrote Heroin's Puppet so parents, educators, clinicians, and young people can learn from her daughter's six-year battle with substances, especially from the journals Amy wrote while in rehab.