A family in Saco, Maine, is opening about their daughter's struggle with heroin addiction by writing about it in her obituary.
"It was something that had to be shared," said Tom Parks. "It was painful, but we needed people to know that there's a scourge, this heroin epidemic."
His daughter Molly Parks, 24, died last week in Manchester, New Hampshire, from a heroin overdose.
In her obituary, the family writes, "Along Molly's journey through life, she made a lot of bad decisions including experimenting with drugs. She fought her addiction to heroin for at least five years and had experienced a near fatal overdose before. Molly's family truly loved her and tried to be as supportive as possible as she struggled with the heroin epidemic that has been so destructive to individuals and families in her age bracket."
Molly's father and stepmother saw her just days before her death. They said she seemed to be on the road to recovery. She had a job, and said she wasn't using anymore.
"She said, 'I'm doing good,'" stepmother Patricia Noble said. "I never should have left it at that. You can't just believe them. You have to keep on them. Do whatever you have to do."
Her parents said Molly needed a better support system after she left drug rehab. They hope there can be more resources available for those struggling with addiction once they are back out into the community.
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They say it might have made a difference in Molly's life -- but now, it's about helping others.
"Whether it's their family or the addict themselves, [I hope] somebody sees it and says, 'You know what, enough's enough,'" Parks said. "'I don't want my parents to suffer like Molly's parents did."
