October 27, 2010 Tonight, WBIR Channel 10, the NBC affiliate in Knoxville, airs a 30-minute special on the life and death of Henry Granju, 18-year-old son of popular Knoxville author and blogger Katie Allison Granju. Henry Granju was addicted to drugs, and died in May after suffering an overdose. The special airs commercial-free at 7:00 pm in East Tennessee, and herecan be viewed online as well.
During Henry’s life, Granju did not discuss his addiction on her blog, but since his death in May, she has become a vocal advocate for greater public awareness about drug use. The family has established the Henry Granju Memorial Scholarship Fund, in partnership with the East Tennessee Foundation, to pay for drug rehabilitation for teenagers who seek help without the means to pay for treatment.
“It is a beautifully produced, sensitive, brutally honest look at what drugs did to one child and one family,” wrote Granju on her blog after viewing the special at the station last week. “While it was almost unbearably painful to watch, I also left the station last night knowing that my son’s life and death are going to help a lot of people – Henry won’t be forgotten, and his brief time on this earth will indeed mean something.”
