Any person who decides to go down the road of alcohol and/or drug abuse long enough, will cross the line where the fun is over and when an awakening begins to stir way down deep inside because the choice to use or not to use, is no longer theirs to make. When, even though substance abuse is starting to make them physically sick, they still can't stop.

And sooner or later they will cross the line which, when they come off their drunks, their bodies are so weak, they spend a very real space of time on the borderline between life and death.

Some alcoholics call this experience angel feathers, and from my own experience with this bitter space of time, it sure didn't seem like no angel was in the room with me. More like a cold, bitter wind roaring through my soul.

I remember more than once wrestling with this bitter, cold monster until dawn, and then as the first rays of sunlight spilled through my bedroom window, in my minds eye, I could almost see an angel feather float by, and I would promise myself, "This is it! I'll do anything to stop drinking."

 A sincere thanks to my close friends who have contributed in their own way to this special project:

My Mom and Dad

Bishop Paul Tingey

Elaine Gray (My best friend)

Cover Design: Roger Sorenson

Editing Typesetting: David Green

This is the true story of a young man's journey back from living a life of hell in the world of alcohol and drug addiction. It is written for others caught in this same lifestyle, who may be searching for a pathway back to living a life free from the enslavement of alcohol and drugs.

President Spencer W. Kimball* has been quoted as saying that family members and other concerned persons should never give up on these others. He further stated that an important contribution to the recovery process of these persons will be missionary efforts of recovered alcoholics and drug users, because of their special empathy for, and their ability to speak their language.

*Late president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

- Alma 26:22