Living The Vegas High Life…And Lows
American Addiction Centers (AAC) presents “Far From Finished,” a weekly podcast that shares the real-life stories of people who survived substance use to thrive in recovery. In Episode 39, Earl talks about how growing up, he had a sense of abandonment. While active in his substance use disorder he did not know that his father walking out on him (when he was five) would negatively impact his life, but it did. His sense of belonging changed once he drank his first beer as it gave him a persona, and all of a sudden he felt like he belonged in social circles. Later working as a craps dealer, Earl was introduced to cocaine and eventually, he spiraled into a 19-year long journey where he lost two marriages and was living a lie. Later while living the high life as an executive at a casino, the drugs amped his behavior threatening his job security but more importantly his identity. His rock bottom was an 18-hour state of drug induced psychosis, during which he was shacked up in his home holding a gun pointed at his temple. It was a knock on his door that saved his life. Afterward, he immersed himself in recovery movies, books and AA to help achieve his recovery which dramatically changed his life. Now as a treatment consultant he still has the opportunity to make people’s lives pleasurable but with added value.