Out the grieving mouths of babes –

October 30, 2019 – “Most of the people in my family do drugs. They want to get better but they’re struggling and just can’t get better,” Layla said. It’s a moving an surprisingly matter-of-fact admission from Layla. It comes in a documentary from producers Ken Spooner and Mike Mee. “Life With Layla” tells the story of the 7-year-old New Jersey girl who is surrounded by a family struggling with drug abuse.

Layla lost her aunt to a fatal heroin overdose. She and her family try to stop her uncle from going down the same tragic path. But it was Layla’s relationship to her aunt that comes through as the driving emotion behind Layla’s quest to protect her family. “I miss her a lot. My whole family misses her,” Layla said. The film shows us how Layla deals with the loss of her aunt Melissa, sometimes celebrating, sometimes brutally frank and sometimes what sounds like “get over it.”

“Layla calls this Melissa’s party, but she gets mad if people cry. She tells me to stop crying,” said Cait Borras, Layla’s mom. “She OD’d. She choked on her own puke,” said Layla.

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