I could choose a lot of days over the course of my life that were turning points, but this particular day is big. Today, June the 1st, marks 30 years of continuous sobriety. The last day of May, 1985, I was 30 years old. I had lived off the grid since I moved from my parent’s home in 1971. My life up to that point had been a series of drunken, drugged, often suicidal days.

For all the grad students out there (or maybe everyone)…take a look at this face. This is one of my brand new PhDs, Lindsay Schnetzer. If you are struggling, suffering, wondering, let me promise you I saw this one struggle, suffer, and wonder. I mean all the way down into the deeps.