He wrote frankly about his addiction to painkillers and the antidepressants. He channeled the city's grief. When I wrote my article, Rose had gone into rehab so he could offer his sister his bone marrow to treat her leukemia. "Instead of saving my sister’s life," he said, "she saved mine." (2/4)
After @columjournreview.bsky.social published my story, Rose slid downhill again. In 2021 he was diagnosed with end-stage cirrhosis. "He'd nearly succeeded in drinking himself to death," writes Keith Spera in a new profile. (3/4)
As the 20th anniversary of Katrina approaches, Spera caught up with Rose at his new home. a campground in the Maryland woods where he lives alone. If you hit a paywall, you'll be able to access the story at archive.ph/ZvmfW. (4/4)