When I started drinking at 21, I noticed I drank much more than my friends and I became dependent on alcohol. For the next 12 years, I tried to quit. When the pandemic hit, my life unraveled. I was divorced, alone, and spent everything I had on alcohol. I went from being an independent songwriter with a recording contract to sleeping on my friends’ couches and selling my gear to pay bills.

One day my brother took me to breakfast and told me that if I didn’t get sober, I couldn’t coach my nephew’s middle school football team, the only thing in my life that I enjoyed. At that moment, I realized my actions were affecting a lot more people than just me.

When I got to Cumberland Heights and saw the archway, I was terrified. At 33, I thought it was too late to restart my life. But when I began treatment, I felt at home for the first time. I was surrounded by people like me and it was freeing to be understood. I had been a touring musician for many years but had never felt the sense of community I experienced at Cumberland Heights. In this healing environment, I could see it was the life I had left behind that was actually terrifying.

The staff were super intentional and compassionate and many were in recovery themselves. The program was awesome and informative. It felt great to laugh and enjoy life for the first time in a long time. Cumberland Heights taught me it’s never too late to start over. Today, I’m somebody others can count on. My career is thriving. My relationships are being restored. I recently got married and my wife has only known me sober.

My life now is unlike anything I could have ever imagined. I rewrote my hopes and dreams, and recovery gave me the tools to achieve them.