Entertainment

How Courtney Tried to Save Peaches Geldof

by Jenny Jaffe

The story of Peaches Geldof's untimely death is a tragic one, and it's even more tragic when you think of all the ways in which it could have been prevented. Recently released toxicology reports revealed that Peaches Geldof succumbed to a heroin overdose. Geldof's mother, British TV personality Paula Yates, also died of a heroin overdose, so when family friend Courtney Love saw the young starlet using, she tried to prevent her from meeting that same fate.

In an interview with UK magazine Grazia, Love recalls:

...I read heroin was involved and I was not shocked. I know how Peaches liked opiates. Peaches was unfortunately in my room with a friend who had a bag full of these drugs...like 500 pills and I wanted it so badly, never have I wanted anything more; no man, no money, and I had to physically push Peaches and her friend out the door. I was shaking and I kept thinking of the way her mother died and I thought I owe it to this girl to be an example. I was trying to help her, I was trying to mentor her, but at that point in her life, it proved to be impossible. Now the parallels to her Mommy are horrific. It terrifies me for my own child.

Perhaps if Geldof had more role models for sobriety in her life, she would still be alive today, but the fact remains that the 25-year-old died much too soon, and now all we can do is try to learn from what her short life taught us. That Geldof died the same way as her mother serves as a somber reminder that addiction is a hereditary disease, and that there was only so much friends like Courtney Love could do until she Geldof decided to make a commitment to sobriety for herself.

If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction, check out the Addiction Resource Center to find ways you can help or get help.