Anthony Brooks

And that story really helped launch this project.

Yeah, so his name is Tom Andrew, and he worked a full career as a doctor, including 20 years as the chief medical examiner for New Hampshire, which is where I live.

Tom saw it all up close, Aisha.

You know, the grim toll of car accidents, of gunshot wounds, poisonings, assaults, and suicides.

You name it, he saw it.

He said it was a job that gave him a particular appreciation for the fragility of life,

And he remained committed to his work until the opioid crisis hit New Hampshire hard.

And he told me that he watched too many kids, too many young people die, and that he didn't feel that the state was taking the epidemic seriously enough.

And eventually, Tom just had enough.

And in 2017, at the age of 61, he quit.

He'd done the job for 20 years, so he retired.

No, not at all.

You know, he could have followed that route.

He could have retired, put his feet up, cruised into old age.

But instead, he goes back to school.

He's a man of faith.

So he goes to seminary school to become a Methodist deacon because what he wants to do is work with his local Boy Scout troop.

So here's a bit of what he told me about that.

Yeah, he really, and this animates a lot of the stories that I found.

He wanted to give back is really a good way to put it.