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Local Author Tells His Story In 'American Addict'

Brett Douglas was born, raised and lived his whole life in Pensacola. It’s also where he became a drug addict. He is now in recovery and has written his story of growing up and living as an addict in the new book American Addict. Brett Douglas spoke about his life, and the book, with WUWF’s Bob Barrett.

Here are some of the topics that they discussed:

  • Brett feels like he is "one of the lucky ones" because after all his troubles with addiction he is still alive.
  • The book came about when he was going into recovery and knew that step four (of the 12 steps) is writing down your moral inventory. He figured he'd get a head start. 600 or so pages later he had quite a story.
  • Brett feels that people don't think Pensacola is "big enough" to have a drug problem. After living his whole life here he wants to open people's eyes to the issue of drugs here in Northwest Florida.
  • Brett believes he had a typical experience growing up in Pensacola. He did some things that "weren't very nice", but no more than other kids in the area. The difference is he didn't grow out of that behavior while his peers did. 

americanaddictlong.mp3
Here is Bob's full conversation with Brett Douglas

  • The current attention being given to addiction and the "opioid crisis" will be some help, shining a light on the problem and discussing solutions is always a good thing, but Brett says his issue was not the drugs, it was in him. He doesn't think action by the government can legislate a solution, an addict has to want to recover.
  • Brett hit his low point when he left Pensacola for a short time and headed to Houston, where he attempted suicide. He woke up in an ambulance, not very happy about it either. that's when he decided to be serious about his recovery.
  • Brett encourages people to contact him if they need help finding recovery in the area. He can be reached at brettdouglasauthor@outlook.com
Bob Barrett has been a radio broadcaster since the mid 1970s and has worked at stations from northern New York to south Florida and, oddly, has been able to make a living that way. He began work in public radio in 2001. Over the years he has produced nationally syndicated programs such as The Environment Show and The Health Show for Northeast Public Radio's National Productions.