More Americans die from accidental drug overdoses than car accidents. Or guns. Where’s the outrage? Why don’t we care? We need to bring the issue out of the shadows, and recognize the opioid epidemic hits people of every color, religion, age, location and income. Doctors, teachers, nurses, farmers, welders. Your neighbors, your family.

For nine months, the Farm and Dairy newsroom has been focused on three rural counties with high rates of drug overdose deaths, and in this series, we share stories from those counties. But they are your stories, too, because they are happening everywhere.

The stories of drug addiction are a rural reality.