Helpers Anonymous

A Disabled Woman's Experiences with Home Care During the Opioid Epidemic

By: Jeanne Tiberio

Narrated by: Ashley Gatti

A sudden rise in opioid addicts coinciding with a sudden drop in legally available opioids, created a desperation for prescription drugs never seen before in this country. Physicians shut down their previous practice of repeated refills, once the death toll was too high to ignore. As hospitals and rehab facilities instituted drug testing and CORI checks to ensure employees were clean, one health-care option stood alone as a place to easily obtain painkillers. That place was home health care.

Jeanne Tiberio tells her story of living with her personal care attendants on the front lines at that turbulent time. Equal parts comical and heartbreaking, Jeanne invites us into her world, as she struggles with and adapts to living with a neuromuscular disease.

©2023 Jeanne Tiberio (P)2023 Jeanne Tiberio

Excellent but painful

A real eye opener of a story that is excellently told but painful to hear.
Distressing with a comedic strain running through. Difficult but important to hear. Really recommend this book.

Excellent book and narration!

I enjoyed listening to Helpers Anonymous by Jeanne Tiberio. As someone who is just getting into audiobooks, I found this to be an easy listen in terms of keeping my attention.

The book gives not only a story of the road to diagnosis for muscular dystrophy for a younger adult woman, but stories of the dark experiences that can plague clients whom receive home health care. As a registered nurse who has experience in home health ( I was a CNA/home health aide in 2014-2015 as I was finishing nursing school), I was appalled by the horrible intents of many PCA’s that Tiberio had to endure as a client trying to get the care she needed to live comfortably at home. This book truly reveals a fractured system that is the MassHealth PCA program. The lack of background checks is a catalyst of ease for drug seeking individuals to get their supply. The stories of these PCA’s are interesting and sad. However, like other reviewers, there is a lot of humor in this book. The narrator also does an excellent job in reading and expressing the emotions conveyed in this book.

I am curious if the present MassHealth PCA program has a better structure at this point for a safer environment for clientele.

I highly recommend this and feel it would be a book of interest especially to healthcare workers, those who enjoy memoirs, and those interested in psychology/ addiction medicine.

Important Book!

"Helpers Anonymous" offers a raw and poignant glimpse into the complexities of living with a neuromuscular disease during a tumultuous era of opioid addiction. Jeanne Tiberio's candid storytelling blends humor and heartache, inviting readers into her world as she navigates the challenges of relying on personal care attendants amidst a healthcare crisis. This book is a captivating and enlightening read that sheds light on important issues while offering moments of both reflection and resilience.