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A Doctor's Fight Against Addiction, Poverty, and Depression

Jason Ramirez attended a new school almost every year of his childhood. Bouncing around from apartments to shelters to the homes of relatives because his parents - both addicted to heroin - could not give him and his sisters a stable home. But, once he set his sights on becoming a doctor, he was locked onto that dream.

Today Dr. Jason Ramirez is a family-medicine physician and faculty member at the University of Maryland medical school. In his memoir, “The Hard Way: A Doctor’s Fight Against Addiction, Poverty, and Depression". He explains how witnessing his parents’ drug use taught him to empathize with patients who struggle with addiction.

Sheilah Kast is the host of On The Record, Monday-Friday, 9:30-10:00 am.
Maureen Harvie is Senior Supervising Producer for On the Record. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and joined WYPR in 2014 as an intern for the newsroom. Whether coordinating live election night coverage, capturing the sounds of a roller derby scrimmage, interviewing veterans, or booking local authors, she is always on the lookout for the next story.