- Drugs
Hi. My name is Ray. I’m 42 years old and I’m Norwegian. I just want to give you a little information here and write my full story when I have a bit more time on my hands. Today is Easter weekend Saturday, and I’m going barbequing on a beach with friends and families in recovery.
I’ve got ten months clean. I’ve tried getting clean many, MANY times– always on my own, and always on my own terms. I’ve been using drugs and alcohol since the age of ten. And alcohol was not something I was not willing to let go of before I was hospitalized with pancreatitis about ten years ago. But I’ve used all kinds of drugs: Cannabis since the age of 12, amphetamines, heroin, and barbiturates…all of them.
I began dealing drugs at the age of 12. And I’ve been involved in shipping, production and distribution of drugs in northern Europe since my late teens. I’ve never been convicted of that sort of crime, so I obviously won’t go in to detail about those stories. But I have done hard jail time.
My point, and what I want to tell you most about, is the last year. My best friend, my mentor in recovery, has 12 years in the fellowship and has worked the steps. One year ago, we went on a hike and he told me, “Ray, you’re killing yourself and I can’t stand it! I’m taking you with me on a hardcore recovery trip in the wild, and across the ocean. We will be sailing to Svalbard and staying out in the wild for 90 days. And we will do this recovery program all the way.”
That saved my life and this summer eight of us will take ten newcomers on that same 90 day trip. We have founded a new recovery foundation called “Veien Ut”, a Way Out. And you can see the pictures and updates on “Veien Ut” page on Facebook. The picture is of me and my daughter, who had given me up completely, and told me not to contact her again before I got clean and serene.
I’ll be back.
Ray