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Melissa Bond

Biography

Melissa Bond

Melissa Bond is narrative journalist and poet. In the years of her dependence on benzodiazepines, Melissa blogged and became a regular contributor for Mad in America. "ABC World News Tonight" interviewed her for a piece in January 2014. Melissa is a respected writer on the perils of over-prescribing benzodiazepines and has been featured on the podcasts "Risk!," "IGNTD" and "The Addiction Podcast."

Melissa Bond

Books by Melissa Bond

Blood Orange Night: A Memoir of Insomnia, Motherhood, and Benzos
by Melissa Bond - Memoir, Nonfiction

As Melissa Bond raises her infant daughter and a special-needs one-year-old son, she suffers from unbearable insomnia. She loses her job as a journalist (a casualty of the 2008 recession), and her relationship with her husband grows distant. Her doctor casually prescribes benzodiazepines --- a family of drugs that includes Xanax, Valium, Klonopin, Ativan --- and increases her dosage on a regular basis. Following her doctor’s orders, Melissa takes the pills night after night; her body begins to shut down, and she collapses while holding her infant daughter. Only then does Melissa learn that her doctor --- like many doctors --- has over-prescribed the medication, and quitting cold turkey could lead to psychosis or fatal seizures.