Raised in Northern Ontario, Dennis started drinking at 18 years of age.  He found the drinking calmed him, gave him confidence and ease when talking with women.  But without the alcohol, he was a nervous mess,

Gary grew up in an abusive home which he thinks contributes to his drinking.  He was forced as a child to sample wine at Christmas, and while he didn’t like it then, he would later as a teen sneak drinks from his father’s liquor.

While laying in an empty bathtub in a Motel 6 in Vermont, Mike takes a handful of OxyContin and waits for the heart palpitations to kill him.  As he starts to fade he reads a text on his phone, “Son, I love you and I need to know that you’re OK.

John’s drug use began with marijuana, smoking it with friends but graduating to dealing in short order.  It’s also when he would try cocaine and pills that would make him hallucinate.  While he considered himself a “pot smoker” he would gravitate towar...

Mike’s first experience with drinking as a teenager left him wanting more of those warm feelings, despite being made the target if public humiliation after passing out.  The booze let to drugs, including cocaine and drug-fueled road trips with friends....

Don sits down to tell his story on his 37th anniversary of sobriety, and he remembers vividly that decision to stop drinking.  But he also remembers when he began, at age 18, having finished high school.  Immediately after graduating,

Bruce remembers his first drink as a teenager, and it made his depression and shyness disappear.  He would chase the feeling into young adulthood, drinking and doing drugs.  At age 21, he married his girlfriend,

Bill grew up in eastern Ontario, moving around frequently because his father was in the military.  As he and his brother so often relocated, they never allowed themselves to get too attached to friends.  Both Bill and his brother would later become alc...

Dave’s first time abusing substances was at age 17.  He tried beer and hated it.  His next drink was 151 proof rum, and it liked it much better.  From there, Dave would try anything he could touch he believed might get him high,

Ken’s first drink came at age four, swigging sweet red wine at his parent’s Christmas party. Ken remembers feeling funny and getting caught by grandma.  In his teens, he and his friends would steel booze from family but didn’t drink excessively.