A Day Of Recovery To Remember!

I had such an amazing time at the 2013 Rally4Recovery this past Saturday in Providence, Rhode Island, which I attended with my friends from the New York State Office Of Alcoholism And Substance Abuse Services, that I can hardly believe it was actually real, as opposed to simply a great dream!

Everyone was so polite, happy, cordial, and on the same page as far as keeping the focus on recovery and giving back to those who are still struggling with this terrible disease.

I spent hours walking around the venue – Roger Williams National Memorial Park – and met and snapped photos with so many terrific people, listened and danced to the live music, basked in the sun, and just took in everything that was happening around me.

Of course, addiction does not only affect “regular” people, but the entire world population, and there were many celebrities, who are also in recovery, offering their support to the cause as well.

I spent time with former Rhode Island Congressman & Grand Marshall Patrick Kennedy, former Heavyweight Boxer “Gentleman” Gerry Cooney, and former National Basketball Association star Chris Herren, among others, and they were all as humble, gracious, and just as adamant about lobbying our elected officials to increase public funding to help fight this disease as anyone else who is involved in this field would be.

Being clean and sober myself now for nearly six years has enabled me to see things from a different perspective, and I can say, without a doubt, that life is what we make of it.

The fact that people are inherently good, especially those working to promote recovery from addiction, has reinforced my own feelings on human nature, and that sharing and caring is far better than using and losing!

I, nor anybody else, can ever go back and change our pasts, but at least if I can make a difference in another recovering addicts’ life and help someone suffering from the disease of addiction get better, then I will have been able to take a bad personal situation and use it in a positive way to assist another human being.

Every life is precious, so whether it is the disease of addiction, or any other ailment, don’t we all owe it to one another to be there to lend support?

Think about that the next time you see a man or woman who is having a hard time in life.

Let your conscience guide the way!

About gman18

I came into the world on October 18, 1961. John F. Kennedy was President of the United States. The film West Side Story was released, and would go on to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Major League Baseball was celebrating Roger Maris of the New York Yankees, who hit a then-record 61 home runs that season. I was an excellent student, although a bit of a class clown too. I spent a majority of my time playing sports, but fell in love with newspapers, which was how I was initially introduced into writing and storytelling. While attending Kingsborough Community College from 1979-1981, I served as editor-in-chief of the school's paper, and then joined the staff at Long Island University's Seawanhaka for my junior and senior years. At L.I.U. where I earned my Bachelor of Arts Degree in Journalism in 1983, I was also a selected member of Sigma Delta Chi, as well as Who's Who Among Students in American Universities & Colleges. My last year in college included an unpaid internship at WCBS-TV, Channel 2 in New York City, where I learned so much about the television business. Upon graduation, I landed a job at the network, starting as a news clerk for The CBS Morning News with Diane Sawyer, and also weekend shifts for The NFL Today with Brent Musburger. After quickly rising in the ranks to producer, my life suddenly went on a downward spiral due to addictions to alcohol, drugs and gambling, which ultimately led to nearly six years behind bars for robbery. My time incarcerated gave birth to my first published book, Jew in Jail, which tells my true story of how I finally decided to deal with my addictions and turn my life around, all the while under the toughest conditions imaginable of being a minority in the prison system, forced to fend for myself. Writing Jew in Jail - as I was doing my time - allowed me to become very introspective, and realize that I could help others in similar situations of being an addict and/or living with low self-esteem. Today, I still reside in my hometown of Brooklyn, New York, where I am working on my next book project, continuing to promote Jew in Jail, and always helping other addicts through my motivational and inspirational speeches, and one-on-one consultations.

View all posts by gman18 →

	gman18 on Eight Years Clean!
	Catherine Townsend-L… on Eight Years Clean!
	gman18 on Seven Years Clean & C…
	ericlahti on Seven Years Clean & C…
	gman18 on Gone Too Soon!