Overdose deaths fell nearly 21% last year, and October marks National Substance Abuse Prevention Month but award-winning author and licensed psychotherapist Lynne Hugo says the numbers don't capture what's actually happening inside families still living with addiction. Her new novel follows 4 women whose lives fracture around a young couple's slide into opioid addiction. As warning signs are ignored and truths obscured, quiet unease escalates into tragedy. When one death is ruled an accident — and another follows — those left behind must confront not only what happened, but what they failed to see, and decide whether they can trust one another enough to rebuild. Hugo holds degrees in English and Psychology from Connecticut College and a graduate degree in Clinical Counseling from Miami University.