Soul of an Addict Inspiration
On July 17th, 2007, John was rushed to a hospital with acute pancreatitis due to excessive alcohol abuse. He was 38 years old. Ironically, John’s blew a .38. John died at 8:25am, surrounded by strangers. John was my nephew. Soul of an Addict is dedicated to John and all of the other beautiful souls who are a casualty of drug and alcohol addiction.
The inspiration to write the book, “Soul of an Addict”, came just prior to John’s death. My husband, Chris, and I have spent years working with alcoholics and addicts and felt the need to write the book and design a new recovery program.
Over the course of several years, we noticed a continuing pattern of failed treatment programs. Many young people were disillusioned with traditional drug and alcohol support programs. Although we were able to help facilitate many people into treatment, the recovery rate and the success rate was incredibly low. Young people, especially, had a difficult time with traditional treatment and aftercare programs and rarely would continue with support groups because the groups lacked the inspiration that we feel is vital to continued sobriety.
The Soul of an Addict project was put on hold when our severely handicapped son almost died from complications due to a broken femur. After John’s death, the inspiration to finish the book, and design Soul of an Addict support projects, moved into high gear. We believe John is inspiring and guiding this project, not John’s memory, but the spirit of his soul, the soul of an addict.
