Four Good Days tells the story of drug addict Molly and her attempts to get clean with the help of her mother. Indeed, Four Good Days was adapted from an article published in 2016, featuring the story of Amanda Wendler and Libby Alexander. Heroin abuse has quadrupled in the past decade. Starring Glenn Close, and Mila Kunis, the film first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on 25th January 2020. She's been addicted for 10 years, using heroin, oxycontin, methadone, crack, and vicodin, which has effectively dismissed and tarnished every relationship in her life. Here is what you need to know. Seventy-one. I know that." When does this nightmare end?, Dead in a walmart parking lot , On our way to view her remains , My daughter was last seen around midnight . How many times had she reworked Amandas obituary in her head: a sarcastic sense of humor, a sharp wit, a patient mother of young twins, a woman so disarming that once, when agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration came to confiscate her prescription pills, she wound up dating one of the agents. Hows Amanda ends with Libby and Amanda in the emergency room of a hospital seeking help for Amandas withdrawal. Thank you for signing up to . Its too much. Why death rates for white women in rural America are spiking A movie from 2020 starring Mila Kunis and Glenn Close is currently taking off on Netflix, but what is the true story behind Four Good Days? "We do recover I'm a living testament to that," Wendler said. The driver of a speeding vehicle crashed into another vehicle Monday night while driving away from the scene of a shooting, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Debs fears came true as Molly admits how she had consumed drugs on a variety of occasions throughout the weekend. The film is based on an article by Eli Saslow titled, Hows Amanda?A story of truth, lies and an American addiction (opens in new tab), which documents and young woman's struggle with heroin addiction and how her mother helped her. She had been a competitive swimmer as a teenager, but now she was out of shape. but the Washington Post provides a riveting look through the plight of a 31-year-old Michigan woman named Amanda Wendler. Im not ready, Amanda said, and then she said to just do it and closed her eyes. She is also passionate about feminism and equality and loves writing about gender issues and feminist literature. Cant you ever trust me? Amanda said. I refused to let them fill it, so he just took Motrin and he was fine. Find Amanda Wendler's email address, contact information, LinkedIn, Twitter, other social media and more. Libby checked the clock on her dashboard and thought about all of the other times she had watched Amanda disappear. The walkers circled past the garage on another loop. She wondered if she could find a ride into Southwest Detroit for one last $10 bag: the euphoria when the drug entered her bloodstream, the full-body tingling that moved in from her hands to her chest, erasing pain, erasing fear, erasing sadness, erasing anxiety and feelings of failure until finally the tingling stopped and the only thing left to feel was blissful numbness, just hours of nothing. She dropped her cigarette and crawled into the back seat of the car. For the first time ever, I actually blocked him on my phone., See, thats the part Im no good at, Libby said. She had no job, no high school diploma, no car and no money beyond what her mother gave her for Mountain Dew and cigarettes. Please help us out : Will you. Call back, Libby said, because she wasnt sure if Amanda was telling the truth or inventing a reason to put it off. Four Good Days Plot Synopsis. Also Read: When is Four Good Days Coming To Netflix? WHAT IS NARCAN? I still never gave up hope that that she would turn her life around, Libby said. Its just like night and day. The air was still and the neighborhood was quiet. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Molly, who had made her mind up to start her recovery, remains persistent as she decides to sleep outside her mothers home. A group of retired women walked by in visors and spandex, making their usual morning loop. NARCAN is used to help revive opioid overdose victims. I am so excited and honored to have a meaningful conversation about trauma and addiction with Amanda Wendler, Libby Alexander, Eli Saslow, Gabor Mat and surprise guests! Amandas right leg began to tremble. Just three or four to get going with the twins in the morning, to feed them, to sing to them, to feed them again, to sit and play all day in a lonely trailer out in Macomb. It is believed that while Molly has managed to bring a drastic change to her life, she still hasnt been able to completely stay away from drugs. "Not my mom trying to take care of a grown adult. This was based on Amanda Wendlers life as a drug addict that was published as Hows Amanda? A Story of Truth, Lies and an American Addiction," which chronicled Alexander's experience with daughter Amanda Wendler. Because she was prescribed heavy-duty painkillers after a minor injury when she was 16 the start of her spiral into addiction Wendler is vigilant about protecting her own children from a. I need your pee, Amanda was saying to her mother now, on the last day, just hours before her appointment for the shot. But as anybody who has ever suffered from an addiction problem will know, staying clean isn't easy. I mean I cried so much watching that because during my addiction, I never looked in the mirror, Amanda said. All rights reserved. Four Good Days Ending shows glimpses from four months in the future as we see that Molly is still living with Deb. an acclaimed 2016Washington Post article. They drove out of the exurbs, through the suburbs and into the city. He grabbed Amandas wheelchair and started rolling her back into triage. Are you serious? Libby said. Amanda Wendler and Libby Alexander, the real life daughter/mother that Mila Kunis and Glenn Close portray in the film FOUR GOOD DAYS, discuss addiction, the. Emory's Title IX resources can be found here. It was a place so quiet that Amanda could sit in the garage and literally hear the clock tick. The average active user dies of an overdose in about 10 years, and Amandas opiate addiction was going on year 11. She has disabled the door sensors that were attached to keep a check on Molly from stealing anything. I couldn't put down this excruciating tale of Amanda Wendler's struggle to get . The next few days are anxiety-filled for Deb who wants her daughter to give up the addiction. The years of pain that highlighted a mother's enduring love, then the commitment to capturing that reality while filming, created something Wendler hopes will change hearts and minds. Deb initially refuses to let her inside the house. Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture critic Julie Hinds at jhinds@freepress.com. But the fact that matters most for a chronic user is what it takes for just one addict to get clean. Twenty-eight days without having to worry about this nightmare.. Most addicts are introduced to heroin through prescription pain pills, and doctors now write more than 200 million opiate prescriptions each year. Wendler is a. Amanda Wendler relaxes in Farmington Hills, MI, on June 22, 2016. A new divide in American death We have to go by priority, the nurse said. ", Wendler's remarks come as the opioid crisis continues to devastate communities across the nation, with drug-overdose deaths hitting an all-time high within a 12-month period. The nurse left and returned with a long needle. No muscle spasms or impaired breathing. What had she done to get it? Its just like night and day. What about finding a clinic?, This is more important, Amanda said, and so she began to explain how Sammy reminded her of herself, and how they had looked out for each other in the abandoned house. They stayed in the neonatal unit for the next two months as doctors ran tests to see what was wrong. Their condo was tucked away in a small development surrounded by pine trees and occupied mostly by retirees: no loud noises, no solicitors, no unauthorized visitors allowed beyond the guard shack after 8 p.m. Libby was usually in the living room with the TV on mute. But how close is the plot of Four Good Days to real life? Youd think by now I could figure it out, but I honestly have no idea.. This Account is Private. Her first opiates had been a prescription for 120 tablets of Vicodin, offered by a doctor to treat a minor snowmobiling injury in high school. Regret was a trigger. The film based on Wendler's journey features a mother (played by numerous awards-winning actress Glenn Close) who helps her daughter (Golden Globe-nominated Mila Kunis) along the road to recovery after she unsuccessfully underwent several rehabilitation stints and even stole from her family to fuel her addiction. All that sky. Fune. The ending of Four Good Days reveals that the film is based on an article by The Washington Post (opens in new tab), about a real mother and daughter named Libby Alexander and Amanda Wendler. Amanda Wendler (inspired by) Stars Mila Kunis Carla Gallo Glenn Close See production, box office & company info Watch on Hulu on Hulu.com and the Hulu app More watch options Add to Watchlist Added by 23.3K users 126 User reviews 45 Critic reviews 52 Metascore Nominated for 1 Oscar 3 nominations total Videos 4 Trailer 2:26 Watch Official Trailer See you next Tuesday, she said, and then she hung up. Amanda Alexander, founding Executive Director of the Detroit Justice Center, is a racial justice lawyer and historian who works alongside community-based movements to end mass incarceration and . She met with a therapist, confided in her husband, consulted with a bankruptcy lawyer and started talking regularly with the mothers shed met online. In a condo with noise restrictions, the TV often is on mute. "I lost everything.". Her appointment would be rescheduled. And none of us knewbecause its not something anybody talked about.". She sat at a picnic table and stared out at the water. Mila Kunis has undergone a total transformation for her latest movie.. Amanda lit a cigarette and sat in a plastic chair wedged between the cat food and the recycling bins in the garage, the only place where she was allowed to smoke. Also Read: Is The Movie Four Good Days Based On A True Story? A pair of Cincinnati police officers recently used the medication to help a woman who was experiencing a drug overdose. "I thought I was watching my mom onscreen, she says. A close look at one tragedy in rural Oklahoma, Why death rates for white women in rural America are spiking, In a town where pills are currency, opioid addicts have few options. Libby tucked her purse against the drivers side door, where Amanda wouldnt be able to reach it. 1,266 following. Do you know how many times hes done that? Mary said. Naturally, the question on everyones lips after watching Four Good Days or reading Hows Amanda is just that: how is Amanda Wendler now? Amanda Wendler Death - Is Dead, Obituary, Funeral, Cause Of Death, Passed Away: On May 21, 2021, InsideEko Media learned about the death of Amanda Wendler through social media publications made on Twitter. A Story of Truth, Lies and an American Addiction." . This was a mistake, she said now, banging her fist against the steering wheel. Watch full movie Four Good Days: Drama movie directed by Rodrigo Garca released in 2021. Shed run up thousands of dollars in credit-card debt to pay for a wellness retreat in the woods, and shed slept on a cot in the hallway of a Medicaid addiction center. He said she would be out of withdrawal and feeling better within three or four days. Excuse me? fine. Four Good Days is a drama film that is based on the true-life story of Amanda Wendler (Molly) and Libby Alexander (Deb). The SAMHSA helpline offers free, confidential help for substance abuse. The next day, Deb reluctantly agrees to help Molly but before she does so, she forcibly takes Mollys hands off her mouth. Four Good Days starts off with Margaret Wheeler aka Molly, coming back to her moms place one year after she last saw her. For the drug test. The Thousand Oaks, California, native, 30,. And this isnt a priority? Libby said, pointing to Amanda, who now was crying and saying that she needed a sedative, that she wanted to be knocked out. In weak moments, Amanda has pawned her belongings. She took a deep breath and wiggled her toes and squeezed her arms and rolled her neck and decided she felt Hospital kept him a couple hours and put him back on the street barefoot in scrubs with a map.. According to Wendler, Saslow reached out to her about participating in a possible story after finding her througha Facebook page for recovering addicts. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. And so, the conversation keeps evolving and that's how it should be. Help Center Contributor Zone Polls. In Farmington Hills, Mich., in the 11th year of her opioid addiction, Amanda Wendler decided to pursue one of the newest treatments for heroin: A monthly shot of a drug called naltrexone, which. It was a monthly shot of a drug called naltrexone, which blocks the effects of opiates on the brain and makes getting high impossible. Hows Amanda? asked one of them, Mary Carr, as they sat down at a restaurant and ordered drinks. She had even tried an earlier version of the naltrexone shot a few years back, and it had helped her stay clean for five months until she relapsed. The mom and daughter also attended a metro Detroit screening in Livonia and spoke to local media. Reluctantly, Deb gives her urine to Molly. On January 7, 2021, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court ruled that the ballot measure violated the separate-vote requirement for constitutional amendments and that results could not be certified. I felt good by doing it., Alexander echoes her daughter's opinion. Amanda's story began when she was involved in a snowmobile accident at the age of 16. Even so, we are left to question if Molly was finally clean as we witness a moment of hesitation in the final moments of the film. Amanda hung up and told Libby there had been a miscommunication between her Medicaid insurance and the doctors office. But the movie is one of hope with a message for those still trapped by addiction. The pills chased away that pain and also the anger left over from her parents divorce, her depression, ADHD and self-doubt, and soon she was failing out of high school and becoming increasingly dependent on pills. Just one or two to make it through another shift at work, a pawnshop where she stood behind the counter and gave addicts their $25 loans. How much longer until we get seen? Libby asked, and finally after about half an hour a nurse came out to check on them. For the two women, seeing versions of themselves in "Four Good Days" wasn't always easy. Hows Amanda doing? friends and relatives would ask, at every graduation, wedding and baby shower, and what was Libby supposed to tell them? Amanda's struggle to get clean was profiled by Eli Saslow in a 2016 Washington Post article. The turbulent relationship between a Farmington Hills mother and daughter is being featured on the big screen. Her hands were steady. In 2021, Amanda went onFox News to attest that addicts can recover and now hopes to dispel the stigma surrounding drug addicts. Southwest Detroit had been Amanda's go-to neighborhood for heroin. She couldnt breathe. Up there, Amanda said, pointing to a two-story building with no windows, no door and trash spilling out from the entryway. Molly says that Corey has a cold but Chloe is fine and Sean is thinking about letting her see the kids more and starting to trust her again. They sat in silence for a moment and Mary reached for Libbys hand. Heroin? the receptionist asked, because the hospital had already seen 11 of those cases in the last 24 hours. What? She tugged down her sleeves and put away the mirror. Glenn Close stars as a mother trying to get her drug-addicted daughter, played by Mila Kunis, over a crucial recovery hurdle in Rodrigo Garcia's empathetic fact-based drama, 'Four Good Days. She couldnt stand, so Libby got her into a wheelchair. She had tried, most of all, to be loving and patient with her daughter and to remember what so many experts had told her, that addiction was not a choice but a disease, even as Amanda stole her checks and then her credit cards, running up more than $50,000 of debt. There was a banged-up dresser she had put into storage before moving into her first abandoned house. Libby pulled over and Amanda jumped out. She also has twin sons instead of a boy and a girl and the storyline about giving up a baby for adoption was not mentioned in the article - suggesting it was most likely an invented storyline from the movie producers. The question of whether Amanda stays clean or not is never resolved. On Monday, Molly finally comes back home hurrying Deb to get ready to go to the detox center. Molly and Deb having some Mother-Daughter time. Market data provided by Factset. Pulitzer Prize-winning story of Amanda in the Washington Post. I reside in Navi Mumbai. When you see the mannerisms, everything, (I was) like, 'Oh my God, how did she do this?,"' says Alexander, 60, of Close's acting. There were a few garbage bags filled with clothes. Now she had spent 11 more years trapped in that cycle expecting her daughter to die, sacrificing her sanity to save her, and doing most of it alone. Okay. If she sees Im doing good, maybe I can convince her to go into rehab.. The very evening of her third day sober, Molly receives a call from the detox center. As a recovering addict of 36 years I have been through a lot, seen a lot and learned a lot. It freaked me out. This leads to a willingness to abandon the ones around us. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Youre doing everything you can, she said. Ozempic for weight loss has swept the internet following celebrity exposure, but users warn the reality of taking the drug is very different from expectation, By Elena Angelides What do you mean theres a problem with my appointment? Amanda was saying now, and Libby started cursing under her breath. Amanda and Libbys story takes place in their hometown on the outskirts of Detroit. "Clear-eyed and sober," read a report from one drug counselor, and so Amanda, 31, had moved back in with her mother to begin the stage of recovery she feared most. Just five when it started to feel like she was suffocating, 24 years old, divorced and already so stuck. Laura loves drinking and eating and can often be found trying to get reservations at London's trendiest restaurants. She thanked the nurse, went into the bathroom to leave Libbys urine sample and then hurried outside. She had been trying to occupy herself with coloring books and cellphone games, anything to keep her hands busy. THE LIFESAVING TREATMENT THAT CAN REVERSE OPIOID OVERDOSE SYMPTOMS, "I got into a snowmobile accident around 16, and the doctor gave me Vicodin for the pain, and it just took off from there," Wendler told co-host Dana Perino. Maybe helping someone would boost her self-esteem. That the story wasn't just true but truthful is what drew Close to the . Amanda stomped out her cigarette and headed inside. It would be at least two weeks before the methadone was out of her system and she could pass a drug test. Libby stood close so she could listen. In this series, The Washington Post is exploring this trend and the forces driving it.Read the entire series. Deb grapples with the guilt she feels for being an enabler to Mollynot entirely able to trust her either after years of being lied to, stolen from and shouted at to feed her daughters addiction. Later, in March 2021, the distribution rights in the US were acquired by Vertical Entertainment. But it will be available on Netflix from February 1st 2023. She was prescribed Vicodin for the pain, which was the beginning of her addiction. I found her, and we called her parents, but she decided she didnt want help, Amanda said, and to prove it she handed Libby her phone and showed her a seven-minute call made to a number in Tennessee. During this, they learn of a new method for sobriety. Im not really sure, Amanda said, looking down, picking at her nail beds. Take me to the emergency room, she said, and Libby started driving. She sorted her nail polish and lit another cigarette. Hows Amanda?: A story of truth, lies and an American addiction. Jesus. Copyright 2023 ClickOnDetroit.com is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group, a division of Graham Holdings. Its a story about a daughters addiction and how her mother learns to trust her again. All products are independently selected, tested or recommended by our team of experts.If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission. At 16, Amanda Wendler was hooked on opioid painkillers. Perino noted that, last year alone, there were 100,000 related deaths. Born Today Most Popular Celebs Most Popular Celebs Celebrity News. Let Go and Let God, was the advice some other mothers had repeated in Nar-Anon group meetings, but instead Libby had gained weight from stress, developed insomnia and started losing her hair. I lost who I was and I did start to look really bad.. Amanda Wendler Obituary - Death: Amanda Wendler Today | Amanda Wendler Cause Of Death Amanda Wendler Obituary: In the loving memory of Amanda Wendler, we are saddened to inform you that Amanda Wendler, a beloved and loyal friend, has passed away. She watched a family shove their canoe into the lake. It had now been 12 days since the last time Amanda Wendler used a drug of any kind, her longest stretch in years. In a town where pills are currency, opioid addicts have few options She's now a freelance writer living in L.A. and writing a book of nonfiction essays. So, seeing the puzzle reminded her of her previous life where she couldnt give up on drugs. Today; Yesterday; Pick-a-date . She had already made it through one last night alone under the freeway bridge, through the vomiting and shakes of withdrawal, through cravings so intense shed scraped a bathroom floor searching for leftover traces of heroin. Thats all just days away., Days are forever, Amanda said. Amanda Wendler she/her. February 24, 2022 oxymoron in fahrenheit 451 part 3. No heroin? A Story About The Last Hope, The Last Attempt. I dont really have to go.. Finally, it stuck.". (Photo By MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images), Former opioid addict on road to recovery: 'I lost everything'. She relocked the doors as she drove and cupped her hands over the car keys, remembering a time when Amanda had grabbed her keys and refused to give them back unless Libby paid her. Wendler says addiction must berecognized for what itis an illness that is treatable, not a character flaw. "Clear-eyed and sober," read a report from one drug counselor, and so Amanda,. I felt very strong but I was thin.". A man wielding a rifle opened fire on another man Monday afternoon at an undisclosed location on Arlington Road, killing him, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. She looked the same as she had when shed left the car. Content warning: this article discusses drug abuse and may be distressing to some readers. Moreover, the mother-daughter relationship has finally gotten better as we finally see proof of Deb trusting Molly. Amanda dialed again. Libby sent her a text message. Amanda checked in at the main desk and then waited outside the front door, smoking a cigarette until a nurse came out to get her. A resident of Los Angeles' Skid Row, Amanda got into sex work to provide a means of surviving on the streets. That she was giving Amanda an allowance for cigarettes and cleaning up her moldy cereal bowls? What are you even saying? Libby said, and so Amanda began unwinding the lies she had been telling her mother for the past week. Shes just fine, was what Libby had always said, until eventually people stopped asking, which felt even worse. Grant comes to Local 4 from Oklahoma City. Sophomore Amanda Wendler and some of her Jewish classmates recently met with Nelson after a mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue. She couldnt steady her hand to fill out the intake forms, so Libby helped do them for her. White women are dying faster all over America -- but what about where you live? Im going to be honest,I cried when I read it. Amanda Wendler always brought light to every room entered. Day League resources can be found here. She had tried therapy and group counseling, inpatient and outpatient. The final scene of the film takes place four months later. How do I live with myself?. This was the ninth time she had managed to go at least a week without using. Nevertheless, her attempts to contact Molly or Sean fail as no one responds to her calls or texts. Woman & Home is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. She grabbed her phone and looked at the dealers latest text message. He asks Molly to come to speak to her class on the topic of drug addiction which Molly agrees to. Who knows? Libby said. Since the turn of this century, death rates have risen for whites in midlife, particularly women. Four days left to go, three days, two, and as the hours crawled by until the appointment Libby decided she needed to leave the house. In darkness of pandemic, Wyandotte man's drug addiction got worse and then deadly, Overdose deaths in Michigan decreased in 2019 and then COVID-19 hit, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. When the day of the shot arrives, Amanda/Molly begs her mother to provide a urine sample, knowing shell fail the compulsory drug test and unable to receive the shot of naltrexone. The fact that Amanda and her mother have tried to counter the stigmas surrounding drug addiction and recovery makes the movie's awe . Molly finally starts living with her mom again, as both of them start to rediscover their love for one another. So Im finished. Please, Im trying to do good here, she said. The film ends with them both sitting in the garage, sharing a poignant look and ripping up the puzzle to start again. The doctor handed me a prescription toward the end of that appointment. He was 27, and he had been homeless for parts of the last 12 years, but lately he had been living with a girlfriend. Molly was to go to the detox center to receive the Opioid Antagonist shot every month. Amanda Wendler is known for Four Good Days (2020). Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Ava Gilchrist is a Senior Digital Writer at marie claire and ELLE Australia. The film is based on Eli Saslow's Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post article, "How's Amanda? Boredom, loneliness, anxiety, regret, shame, seeing how I havent gone up at all in my life when the drugs arent there, she had written. One of the men waved to Amanda. Libby wears a bracelet she bought in a fundraiser by her Facebook group for mothers of addicts. Clean? It had now been 12 days since the last time Amanda Wendler used a drug of any kind, her longest stretch in years. Molly was a 31-year-old drug addict who had come back to her home thinking of the times before she was an addict. Just two more to pass the time spent alone watching TV while her husband, a truck driver, was traveling. She rarely talked to her ex-husband about Amandas addiction; her current husband was patient and supportive, but sometimes, as Amanda's mother, Libby felt that the responsibility was mostly hers. He previously worked freelance video production and writing jobs in Michigan, Georgia and Massachusetts. Libby set down her phone. Make me feel nothing.. It had now been 12 days since the last time Amanda Wendler used a drug of any kind, her longest stretch in years. fourgooddays The story portrayed in Four Good Days is the true story of Amanda Wendler and her mother, Libby Alexander. I cant believe I actually did it, Amanda said. Just a dose every five or six hours throughout the day to quiet the noise in her head, so why wasnt she numb? I hate that sound, Amanda said. Libby stood up and walked into the kitchen. Its our reality., Yeah, I know, Amanda said. Doctors had told her it was just a stubborn cold, until one night Libby went to check on her infant daughter and found her wheezing in the crib. Give me something. She started to tremble and then convulse. Theyre going fast.. "He was always receptive to what we had to say," she . We have 7 records for Amanda Wendler ranging in age from 30 years old to 42 years old.