Taking Ownership

I believe I was born an alcoholic. I always felt different and was the black sheep of my family. I grew up in a small town in northeast Nebraska along with my Mom, Dad, and three brothers. I kept my grades up just to play sports. One summer night before my sophomore year in high school, I went to a keg party, had my first beer and thought this was the best thing ever. I could actually talk to girls. I couldn’t wait till the weekends from this point on to get that feeling of self-worth and to be able to be myself—to drink, in other words.