*ForJosh

On Sunday, October 24th, 2021, my brother Josh died at the age of 39. We are all gutted by the loss of his irreplaceable spirit—larger than life, never afraid to challenge anyone, prolific internet forum troll, but most of all deeply kind and generous. He was funny, too. I will never forget the song he created when we were 5 and 8 – the epic ballad, “Barbara Bush has a very big bush….” He taught me about humor and the importance of making people laugh. I promise to teach my son Wiley all of Uncle Josh’s dirty jokes one day, and may he think of him every time he sees a fast car. I know I will.

My brother was also an addict. It was a touchstone for him for many years - it soothed some emptiness inside of him that we couldn’t reach. While we all lived in fear of losing him, we sought to help him. But, this addiction was too strong.  So, here we are, having lost him finally to his darkest demon—demons that we know call loudly to so many people. The magnitude of pain I feel is huge, but I only allow myself to imagine the grief held by my mom and dad in my worst nightmares.

Our hope now is to save one person’s son or daughter so they never know the pain, the regret, and anger we feel at this moment. With the money raised, combined with contributions from our family, we are beginning the process of founding The Josh Gaffen Foundation to support those who are ready to seek treatment.