Anonymous Sister

Wisdom Shared with Carole Blueweiss

Episode Summary

In this episode, I'm joined by two special guests, harm reduction activist Julie Stampler and award-winning documentary filmmaker Jamie Boyle. We discuss the opioid epidemic through the frame of the incredible documentary Anonymous Sister, directed by Jamie Boyle, produced by Marilyn Ness, and executive produced by Julie Stampler. This is the story of one American family, but what happened to them could happen to any family. We learn about Julie's brother, Jonathan, who died from a heroin overdose, and how his death led Julie into her life of activism and harm reduction work. We see two different paths to managing addiction and substance abuse disorder. This is a story told by two women who watched their siblings suffer. This show is dedicated to all the siblings out there who are anonymous witnesses.

For the visually-minded who prefer to listen and read or for those who need closed captioning, watch the transcript video here: https://youtu.be/oD0vVqw-w6w

About Anonymous Sister

When a young woman turns to the camera for refuge, she ends up with a firsthand account of what will become the deadliest man-made epidemic in United States history. From the producers of Dick Johnson Is Dead and Summer of Soul, Anonymous Sister is two-time Emmy Award winner Jamie Boyle's chronicle of her family's collision with the opioid epidemic.

Anonymous Sister will be playing at IFC Center in New York June 2nd - 8th and Laemmle Theater in Los Angeles June 16th - 22nd, with more cities to follow.

Select screenings will be accompanied by special events and panels. For details and info about upcoming events:

• anonymoussister.com
• https://www.facebook.com/AnonymousSisterFilm
• https://www.instagram.com/anonymoussisterfilm/
• https://twitter.com/AnonSisterFilm

About Jamie Boyle

Jamie Boyle is a two-time Emmy Award winning documentary filmmaker. Her work has played at Sundance, Tribeca, and SXSW. In 2019, she was part of the inaugural Sundance Talent Forum & Catalyst Lab and on DOC NYC’s 40 Under 40 list. She is the writer and editor of BREAKING THE NEWS, premiering Tribeca Film Festival in June 2023. She is the director and editor of ANONYMOUS SISTER, a personal feature documentary coming to theaters in summer 2023 and produced by Big Mouth Productions (DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD, CAMERAPERSON) and Vulcan Productions (SUMMER OF SOUL, THE REASON I JUMP). She was the editor, producer, and cinematographer of JACKSON (Showtime), winner of the 2018 Emmy® Award. She was the editor of TRANS IN AMERICA: TEXAS STRONG, winner of the 2019 Emmy® for Outstanding Short Documentary and two Webby Awards. TEXAS STRONG premiered at SXSW and launched on them. She was the associate editor and production manager of E-­TEAM (Netflix), which won the 2014 Sundance Cinematography Award and was nominated for two News & Documentary Emmys®, including Best Documentary. She was the director, cinematographer, and editor of the short documentary TAKE A VOTE, which premiered at DOC NYC in 2020. She was the in-house editor for The American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights Watch. She taught at the Bronx Documentary Center, as a guest lecturer at Columbia University, and served as a judge for the News & Documentary Emmy Awards.

https://www.jamielboyle.com/

About Julie Stampler

Julie Stampler is a voiceover actress and harm reduction activist who is a National Harm Reduction Coalition Board Member. Julie's harm reduction advocacy work aims to help people who use drugs stay alive rather than pushing for abstinence-only approaches. She advocates for the importance of overdose prevention programs, training people on when and how to use and distribute naloxone/Narcan, and advocating for overdose prevention centers that focus on keeping people alive with access to social service resources. Julie's life-saving work stems from her brother Jonathan's untimely death from a heroin overdose 20 years ago. In a twist of irony, her stepfather Jack Fishman was the scientist credited with inventing naloxone which can reverse an overdose from heroin, fentanyl, and prescription opioid medications—when given in time.

https://juliestampler.com/

From This Episode

• How to use Narcan training video: https://www.anonymoussister.com/resources
• Find Naloxone near you
• Julie's stepfather Jack Fishman
• The Drug That Saves Lives Even if It's Never Used
• https://dancesafe.org/ - site Julie mentions where you can order fentanyl test strips and drug testing kits
• Marilyn Ness
• 5 myths about using Suboxone to treat opiate addiction
• DEA takes aggressive stance toward pharmacies trying to dispense addiction medicine
• About Xylazine

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The Wisdom Shared Team

• Audio Engineering by Steve Heatherington of Good Podcasting Works
• Production Assistant and Marketing Coordinator: Kayla Nelson

Find and Follow Carole and Wisdom Shared:

• https://www.caroleblueweiss.com/
• Subscribe to my YouTube channel
• Follow me and send me a message on Facebook
• Follow me and send me a message on LinkedIn
• Follow me on Instagram
• Follow me on TikTok
• Follow me on Threads

The Wisdom Shared Team

• Audio Engineering by Steve Heatherington of Good Podcasting Works
• Co-Producer and Marketing Coordinator: Kayla Nelson
• Production Assistant: Becki Leigh