Jack had his first drink when he was in the 8th grade. By the time he was 14 he had his stomach pumped twice. Even though he liked the feeling of alcohol he began hearing about drugs that didn’t make you throw up or send you to the hospital. Thus began Jack’s path with heroin. The drug abuse numbed Jack enough to block out a home life that was filled with yelling and screaming. By the age of 19 he began shooting the drug. One of the most important things to know about Jack’s story is how relapse played a big part in it. Even though he had gone to treatment and met amazing people that worked together to stay sober, Jack would still continue down his path of addiction. Eventually this lead to him getting kicked out of his home and he was forced to endure cold nights living on the street. After one particular night spent shooting heroin in his arm he knew that he had to go to detox. He’s been trying to do the right thing ever since. Jack knows how important it is to stay strong in his sobriety. He acknowledges that he needs the help of his fellow addicts who are in sobriety and who want to stay clean. He’s mindful about who he hangs out with and wants to stay close to the winners, as he calls them, because he sees the winners winning. Jack wants to stay sober because sobriety has so many gifts and he’s only achieved a few so far. He wants to get the gifts everyone talks about — having a career, starting a family, and being 30 to 40 years in sobriety, happy with himself. Good days or bad days Jack knows that you just have to be able to pick up your tool kit and talk it out; play that tape when you feel that you want to pick up a drink or drug.