Fentanyl vs. Heroin: "Trash high"—no legs, not the same rush, felt grateful when heroin disappeared

First Shot: A friend made him do it for free—"Misery loves company"—then couldn't stop

OD Stories: OD'd twice in one day—once behind the wheel on FDR, once after snorting Bronx bags, woke up in hospital, ripped tubes out, lied about asthma

Mom's Heart Attack: 4 days after OD, mom has a heart attack from stress

Hustles: Selling weed, flipping Suboxone, scamming friends, "like a credit card"—balances, fronts, juggling

Jam Band Scene: Heavy on acid, ketamine, nitrous, Calvin Klein (coke + K), LSD handling mishap at Camp Bisco led to paranoia for a week

Methadone Clinic Madness: Working in the clinic, finding crack pipes, wild characters, hustles in the waiting room

Recovery Pivot: Got clean after the ferry breakup, went to White Deer Run, cut methadone taper on day 3, Old Testament-level detox, started working the 12 steps, counselor Heath changed his life

Working in Treatment: From the methadone clinic to Ascendant, saw the whole spectrum

Writing: Wrote Slingshot Diaries in Maryland, self-published hundreds of copies, found purpose

Reflection: Raw honesty, doesn’t glorify but doesn’t hide it either—“thank God for grace and mercy”