From 3,000 Miles Away

From my first drink at 12 years old, I kept going until I got sick and passed out. This seemed perfectly normal to me, since this is pretty much how I saw my parents do it. In high school I began to mix other things with my alcohol, but I remained an alcoholic at heart. As much as I hated to admit it, I had become like my father. I began to commit felonies to support my addictions, and prison sentences followed. Finally, at 35 years old, I was sentenced to 30 years to life. As a “career criminal,” society had given up on me, and I had given up hope on myself.