Suburban Junky

Suburban Junky is a harrowing, yet inspirational, story of one teenager’s journey from the classroom to the shooting gallery, and finally, to rehab. In a series of events that leaves you grasping for the next page, Jude Hassan spares no amount of detail in his account of his near-decade long struggle with drug addiction, and the horrors he witnessed along the way.

Jude Hassan came from an upper-middle class household in suburban St. Louis. For most of his life, he was an all-around normal kid. He excelled in sports and academics, and cherished his time at home with his family. It wasn’t until he turned fifteen that things went seriously wrong. While attending his first high school party, he was introduced to pot and alcohol. Needless to say, he gave in to the pressure. A month after that, he discovered heroin. The drug had just made its way into the suburban party scene, and Jude was sure that he could get away with doing it only once. He was sadly mistaken. Within a few short months, his entire life was in shambles. His fate appeared certain, but it was just the beginning.

Jude Hassan was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and lives there to this day with his wife, Rachel. He is the President and co-founder of a St. Louis-based nonprofit organization, similarly named ​Suburban Junky, Inc., whose primary mission is to educate teenagers on the perils of drug abuse. Jude currently travels around the country sharing his story.