·S1 E98
The StoryField #98 - The One with Jonathan Tepper – Heroin, AIDS, and Shooting Up: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Addiction.
Episode Description
“The answer to suffering is always more love”.
– Jonathan Tepper
In this deeply moving conversation, Jonathan Tepper joins Storyfield to discuss his memoir “Shooting Up: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Addiction.”
Jonathan recounts growing up as a missionary kid in 1980s Madrid, where his parents founded a drug-rehab center amidst a heroin and AIDS epidemic. He shares vivid memories of the people who became like family — especially Raul — the painful losses his community endured, and how compassion and service shaped his life.
We explore the realities of addiction and recovery, the emotional toll of grief (including the tragic death of his brother), and how his upbringing inspired a life of learning and resilience that led him from Madrid to Chapel Hill and eventually to Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. Jonathan reflects on the lessons of dignity, presence, and “more love” as the response to suffering, and how ordinary acts of compassion had extraordinary impact.
Listen for honest storytelling, tough questions about loss and mental health, and practical hope for anyone walking through grief.
Grab Jonathan’s book Shooting Up: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Addiction and visit his website to connect and learn more.