USA First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff

Dear First Lady Maria Lee,
I am writing this letter in hopes that you may consider a Memorial Wall for the victims of
the drug overdose/poisoning epidemic in Tennessee, not only to honor their memories
and their families’ loss, but also to work toward creating a narrative to erase some of the
stigma of addiction.
My name is Lacey Cooley, and on March 17, 2022, my entire life changed the moment I
woke up. My boyfriend, Clayton Green, was one of my best friends for over 25 years.
Recently we had begun a closer relationship. We spent most every day enjoying each
other and LAUGHING. We were not only working on ourselves but were also working on
relationships with our families.
Throughout most of his life, he had struggled with drugs and alcohol, but when I say he
was doing good, he was doing great. He was gaining weight. His skin was clearing up.
His eyes were bright. He finally had a relationship with his 16-year-old daughter for the
first time in her life. He was being honest and upfront.
The day before I lost him, he came to work with me and was all over the place. He said he
was sober, but I was very doubtful with no way to prove it. We argued and left separately.
That night we ate pizza, watched a movie, and went to bed.
On Thursday, March 17, 2022, I woke up to find him on the floor dead. He was gone. His
hands were clasped together like he was praying. Instantly, my past, present, and future
were gone. I had to make the most difficult phone call of my life to his mother, who’d just
recently celebrated her cancer remission.
Nothing is the same since his death. My guilt, questions, sadness, anxiety, anger are
sometimes too much to bear, and so is the pain of missing him. How did this happen? I
feel like I let him down, and myself, as well and his daughter and his parents.
Clayton is the love of my life, and I must spend the rest of my life missing him and
mourning him and second-guessing everything we did that day. In the meantime, he’s
forever 38 years old, and I laugh a whole lot less these days.
Thank you so much.
Lacey Cooley – Clayton’s girlfriend; forever 38
Estill Springs, Tennessee
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