A Chilliwack photographer is sharing her images, alongside drawings by her son who died of an overdose, in a moving solo exhibition.

'Bridge Over Troubled Waters' by Vickie Legere, with drawings by her late son Donnie Addley, is at the Chilliwack Cultural Centre from Aug. 14 to Sept. 14.

"As the mother, I was the bridge, offering safety and stability – the troubled waters represented my son’s life. He did not make it to safety."

Donnie died of an overdose in 2021 at the age of 41.

She's hoping the exhibition will open up dialogue about the disease by shining a light on addiction, overdose, and how it affects families.

Donnie was always the type of kid who felt overly responsible. When he was four Vickie came home and Donnie had organized the junk drawer. Around the same age, she recalled him saying "when I grow up, Mommy, I'm gonna get a job and I'm gonna marry you so you won't have to worry about money anymore."

He'd befriend kids that other children didn't like, and play with kids who were different.

"He was the one to take them under his wing."

Vickie instilled fairness and justice in her son.

One day at school, Donnie got into quite a bit of trouble. He pointed out that a teacher, who only saw the end of a fight, had wrongfully punished the child who was the one being picked on.

His brushes with authority only got worse from there.

Donnie was a follower, not a leader. He wasn't afraid to take on a dare. When authorities would show up – be it a teacher or the police – and when everyone else would scatter, Donnie would stay behind and admit to what he had done.

The consequences got worse over time. He got involved in drinking and drugs at a young age.

At the age of 16 he was driving a motorcycle, without a licence, and with his best friend on the back. He ended up crashing the motorcycle, killing his friend. Donnie was charged with dangerous driving causing a death.

He was in and out of jail many times over decades, charged with offences like auto theft and possession of a weapon.

But every time he got out of jail, he'd have a job – or multiple jobs – within a week, Vickie said.

"He had an excellent work ethic. He was always supporting himself."

Around 2017, after he was released from jail, Donnie started up his own framing business called Addley Construction in Surrey. He had 22 employees at one point.

Donnie was a single dad and was concerned about his finances just before Christmas one year. He told his mom that, after paying all his employees, there was no money left for him and that he might have to "do something dodgy" to bring in money.

He began selling drugs, in addition to using them.

In June 2018, while high on drugs, he had an argument with a couple in a homeless camp that neighboured the rural property where he was living in a trailer. They had a shotgun and held it to Donnie's head.

Donnie was a strong man and in his adrenaline rush, he grabbed the gun. There was a struggle and the gun came down toward his leg and shattered his kneecap.

When 911 was called and police heard his name, they figured he was armed and dangerous. They arrived to the scene and called his name on a loudspeaker, but Donnie couldn't get out of the trailer due to his injury.

Finally, one RCMP officer went into the trailer and saved Donnie's life. He was going to bleed to death, Vickie said.

"It took him about five days to remember what happened. But by then the police didn't believe him."

He was charged with possession of a weapon, and Donnie had a lifetime ban on weapons.

The landlord of the Surrey property where Donnie was living at the time of the gun incident put his land up for sale when he was in the hospital. So Donnie's friends gathered up his belongings and brought them to Vickie's house in Chilliwack.

Although he had decades of experience as an addict, he was also equally familiar with sobriety as his mom was sober for most of his life. Vickie will mark 43 years of sobriety on Aug. 24.

"He even had periods of sobriety, but he found that the only way he could get sober was in jail."

His most recent jail time was during the pandemic.

It was also in jail where Donnie taught himself how to draw. His images were dark: demons, monsters, pain, blood.

The drawings continued at Vickie's house when he was again released from jail in 2021, but so did the addiction.

On May 5, 2021, after being out overnight, Vickie came home to find Donnie dead of an overdose.

"I'm not alone as a parent going through stuff like this," Vickie said. "So I knew when he died, I wanted to honour his wounded soul with his artwork that I could show. I'm not doing this for myself so much as for those out there who are still going through this shit. That's what motivated me to do this because I want to open the dialogue for people."

Her show consists of self portraits, derelict buildings, landscapes, plus inspirational quotes, combined with her son's artwork.

Vickie calls the show "raw and emotional." It's an exhibition about both of them navigating their way through emotional baggage and the pitfalls of being vulnerable humans.

"I want people to know that they're not alone and that we need to talk about these things. We need to support each other and normalize it."

Vickie Legere's show 'Bridge Over Troubled Waters' runs Aug. 14 to Sept. 14 in the O'Connor Art Gallery at the Chilliwack Cultural Centre. The opening reception is set for Saturday, Aug. 17 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Gallery hours are Wednesday to Saturday, noon to 5 p.m., and on some evenings during shows at the theatre. Admission is free.