In this episode, I sit down with Kevin Carroll, my cousin Christine’s brother-in-law, whose story offers a different starting point, but a very familiar ending.

Kevin grew up in Marino, in a stable home, with parents who ran a pub on the North Strand. He wasn’t shaped by poverty, criminality, or educational disadvantage in the way many others were: yet from a young age, Kevin speaks honestly about always feeling different from his brother and sister, and about struggles that began quietly beneath the surface.

He reflects on how growing up around money and alcohol influenced him, how control and belonging became tied to finances and friendships, and how issues with weight, self-esteem, and identity followed him into adolescence. Kevin opens up about starting to drink, smoke hash, and take ecstasy at a young age, and how cocaine eventually became his drug of choice.

Despite coming from a very different background, Kevin’s journey leads him to the same place as so many others: addiction, despair, and ultimately rehabilitation in Aiseri in 2019. He speaks openly and bravely about suicide, recovery, and the hard work of change.

Kevin also shares the powerful role his brother Gary played in his recovery: a constant presence who never gave up on him. Today, Kevin is a father of three daughters, in a new relationship, running his own business, and living a life rooted in honesty, growth, and hope.

This is a story that reminds us that addiction doesn’t discriminate — but recovery is possible.