Both have killed hundreds of thousands of Americans across the country and tens of thousands across Pennsylvania.
Dean was among the state's lawmakers who looked for solutions to get Pennsylvania off the list of the top five states with the most overdose deaths.
There was a personal reason too: At home, she was trying to save her son from opioid addiction — a situation she describes as "a house on fire."
Now Dean and her middle son, Harry Cunnane, detail a 10-year road to recovery in their new book, "Under Our Roof."
It's the latest platform for Dean, a rising star in the Democratic Party who recently served as an impeachment manager and is now being called to run for U.S. Senate.