When someone you love is struggling with addiction, you don’t always know what to do next.
I didn’t either.
A Private Storm
Why They Don’t Ask for Help—A Father’s Story of Loss and the Hidden Patterns of Addiction
But in the stillness that followed, he chose not silence — he chose to write.
“A Private Storm” is both a father’s tribute and a guide for every parent, sibling, and friend who has watched someone they love slip into addiction.
Inside, Michael shares what he learned as a father, what he wishes he had known earlier, and the insights that can help other families recognize warning signs, ask better questions, and take meaningful action.
Available October 20th
Author • Speaker • Advocate • Peer Grief Ally
We Don’t Talk About Addiction.
We Don’t Talk About Grief. I want to change that…
This is where my journey began—but it’s not where it ends.I seek to help families and professionals navigate addiction, prevention, and what comes next by bringing awareness to how the person suffering can be helped, and knowing that they don’t often ask for help.
Robert’s Story
Robert Simon was 26 years old when he died from an accidental fentanyl overdose on January 20, 2025. He was bright, deeply loved, and struggled for years with addiction, moving in and out of recovery while his family searched for ways to help him. Like many families facing addiction, Michael Simon believed there would be more time—more conversations, more chances, more healing. But during what should have been a routine surgery for Michael, Robert took a counterfeit Xanax pill laced with fentanyl and died alone in a restroom just steps away from the people who loved him most.
Robert’s story is not only about loss. It is about the hidden reality of addiction, the silence that often surrounds it, and the painful question so many families ask afterward: Why didn’t they ask for help?
Today, Robert’s life and memory are the emotional heart of Michael’s advocacy and mission to help other families recognize the warning signs earlier.
This Is Bigger Than One Story
Helping communities understand why people don’t ask for help—and what to do before it’s too late.
Michael is on a mission to connect communities, share knowledge, support meaningful change in how addiction is understood and addressed, and raise money through The Robert Simon Fund for Opioid Research.
Awareness
Prevention
Helping people recognize early warning signs and understand what intervention really looks like.
Research
Supporting advancements in fentanyl awareness, treatment, and long-term solutions.