Forgiving the Drug Dealer That Killed My Daughter
Our American Stories
iHeartPodcasts
4.6 • 817 Ratings
🗓️ 7 November 2025
⏱️ 9 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On this episode of Our American Stories, when Mike and Deborah Bailey lost their daughter Ashlynn to a fentanyl overdose, their world stopped. For months, they wrestled with heartbreak and rage, knowing the man who sold her the drugs was still alive. Then their son came to them with a quiet conviction: he wanted to forgive the dealer. What began as an act of faith became a family’s path to healing.
The Baileys wrote a letter offering forgiveness—not to excuse the pain, but to release its hold on their hearts. They believed that letting go was the only way to honor their daughter’s spirit. Their story is a powerful testament to grace in the face of loss and to the strength it takes to choose love when everything else falls apart.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:04.4 | To beat the champ, you got to knock him out. |
| 0:08.0 | The Dodgers stand tall and win back-to-back titles. |
| 0:12.7 | I'm Richard Parks the third. |
| 0:14.4 | My show Dodger Blue Dream captures all the drama, tension, and ecstasy of the best world series win of all time in our new episode, Game 7. |
| 0:26.0 | No way! |
| 0:27.3 | Out now. |
| 0:28.8 | Listen to Dodger Blue Dream on the IHeard Radio arts to sports and from business to history stories and we tell stories about everything here on this show from the arts to sports |
| 0:55.8 | and from business to history and your stories too |
| 0:58.5 | and up next is the story of Mike and Deborah Bailey |
| 1:01.8 | after losing their daughter to an overdose |
| 1:04.5 | the Bailies did what some would consider |
| 1:06.9 | to be the unthinkable |
| 1:08.2 | by forgiving the dealer |
| 1:10.1 | who sold the drugs to their daughter. |
| 1:13.6 | Ashland was really fun, a little tiny thing, always smiling. |
| 1:20.6 | Full of energy. She's one of those just magnetic people. |
| 1:24.6 | She was at church all the time, so she was very familiar. |
| 1:28.3 | So she was six years old when she became a Christian. |
| 1:32.1 | She just was like, Mom, I want to do this. |
| 1:34.9 | She talked to the children's minister as well as the pastor, and they were like, yes, |
| 1:38.5 | she totally gets in and totally understands. |
... |
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