Terry

From the highs of schoolyard spliffs, post-football pints, and weekend ecstasy sessions, I ended up a desperate, hope-to-die street junkie, stealing petty groceries or begging for spare change to accumulate enough currency to trade for my next fix.

I finally surrendered in 2012; to surrender, for me, was to move over to the winning side. At last, I had caged the enemy - only to find out there is a rigid dichotomy between abstinence and recovery. In order to stay in recovery, I had to ignore the internal pernicious whisper trying to vilify my character on a daily basis.

Today, I enjoy my new role as a lecturer in Forensic Science as part of the Department of Applied Sciences at the University of the West of England #UWE Today I am FREE!