Brothers and Sisters in Recovery 🙏 Yesterday was sobering — no pun intended. I learned that my very good friend’s stepbrother passed away from an overdose. It hit hard. Real hard. Because every one of us knows the truth deep down… this disease does not play fair. Addiction does not care about age, family, intelligence, kindness, or potential. It steals sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, and friends. It leaves empty chairs at dinner tables and broken hearts that never fully heal. And the hardest part? Most of us know that person could have been us. Some of us have overdosed and somehow made it back. Some of us woke up in hospital beds. Some of us were brought back with Narcan. Some of us buried friends we laughed with just weeks before. We’ve watched addiction turn beautiful souls into statistics. That reality should shake every recovering addict to the core. But here’s what I also know: recovery gives us a responsibility. We are not just staying clean for ourselves anymore. We ar...
Brothers and Sisters in Recovery 🙏
This is the last of my morning messages… April fools! 😂
I was thinking about a book I read by Gregory David Roberts called The Shantaram. It’s loosely based on a true story about a guy who was a paramedic in Australia and also a heroin addict who ended up robbing a bank and serving 19 years in prison. He eventually escaped and became a fugitive in India, where he ran a quasi-clinic in the slums of Bombay. Because of his Western background and English-speaking ability, the local underground mafia used him as a go-between for foreigners.
One of the characters, a philosopher-gangster if you will, said something about the justice system that has stuck with me: “It’s not about how much crime is in the sin, but how much sin is in the crime.”
That idea makes me think deeply about addiction and recovery. When I make amends, it’s not just about the harm I caused—it’s about the moral failings inside me that led me there. The sin behind the actions, the character flaws I need to own. Recovery isn’t just about blaming drugs or circumstances; it’s about taking full responsibility for what I did and who I was when I did it.
As I move into the steps of making amends, my focus is on being honest, humble, and sincere. I want every apology to reflect true understanding—not just of the crime, but of the sin that fueled it. I’m still working on step seven with my sponsor, and I know there’s a long journey ahead, but I want to do this right. I want to live my recovery fully, with integrity and awareness.
Keep your hearts open, take each day as it comes, and remember: one day at a time, progress not perfection, and live in the solution.
With love and gratitude,
Gary G
I was thinking about a book I read by Gregory David Roberts called The Shantaram. It’s loosely based on a true story about a guy who was a paramedic in Australia and also a heroin addict who ended up robbing a bank and serving 19 years in prison. He eventually escaped and became a fugitive in India, where he ran a quasi-clinic in the slums of Bombay. Because of his Western background and English-speaking ability, the local underground mafia used him as a go-between for foreigners.
One of the characters, a philosopher-gangster if you will, said something about the justice system that has stuck with me: “It’s not about how much crime is in the sin, but how much sin is in the crime.”
That idea makes me think deeply about addiction and recovery. When I make amends, it’s not just about the harm I caused—it’s about the moral failings inside me that led me there. The sin behind the actions, the character flaws I need to own. Recovery isn’t just about blaming drugs or circumstances; it’s about taking full responsibility for what I did and who I was when I did it.
As I move into the steps of making amends, my focus is on being honest, humble, and sincere. I want every apology to reflect true understanding—not just of the crime, but of the sin that fueled it. I’m still working on step seven with my sponsor, and I know there’s a long journey ahead, but I want to do this right. I want to live my recovery fully, with integrity and awareness.
Keep your hearts open, take each day as it comes, and remember: one day at a time, progress not perfection, and live in the solution.
With love and gratitude,
Gary G
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