Parham Nematollah grew up in Iran during the Iran-Iraq war where he lived through frequent bombings that sent his whole family fleeing for safety. 

They eventually made it to the US, but he then spent his childhood moving back and forth from the US to Iran. At age 9 he moved back to Iran and spent the better part of a year learning how to read and write in a new language. 

At 16 he moved back to the US for good but the constant change caused him to feel outside of both cultures and desperate to fit in by any means necessary. His anxiety (rooted in the early trauma of war) and the desire to fit in, caused him to start using alcohol and cocaine to deal with it all. 

At 25 he overdosed and finally found sobriety while sitting across from his sick mother who happened to be at the same hospital for treatment. He wondered what she did to deserve her sickness and what he was doing to her. 

Parham eventually went back to school to become a Licensed Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor and also holds a Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. He is currently the Chief Operating Officer at Buckeye Recovery Network, an Outpatient Treatment Facility he helped to create.

Episode Resources

• Buckeye Recovery Network | buckeyerecoverynetwork.com

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