DJ AM Life was Cut Short by a Presumed Drug Overdose

Last Friday the disease of addiction took another influential life from us. The renowned DJ AM's life was cut short as a result of a presumed drug overdose when he was found dead in his New York apartment. It has been reported that AM recently told his Sponsor that he had in fact relapsed and that was why he had been acting so erratically as of late, he agreed that he would go into treatment after he took care of a few things, including an event that was to take place in Las Vegas last Friday. Sadly, only a day after Adam Goldstein (his real name) promised his manager and sponsor that after his gig in Las Vegas last Friday, he would check himself into a rehab in California, Goldstein would never make it to that show and he was found with prescription pills and drug paraphernalia around his body in New York.

AM was taking strong painkillers after surviving a plane crash with Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker in 2008. However, it is reported that he had struggled with addiction since his early twenties, but was sober for at least 10 years before the plane crash. It seems that the plane crash may have sped up the progression towards the 36 year old's untimely death. Goldstein had just finished filming the MTV show Gone Too Far last Tuesday, where he and concerned families staged interventions for drug abusers. According to Wikipedia,"Radio personality and addiction specialist Dr. Drew Pinsky, who was a friend of Goldstein, said on his August 30, 2009 Loveline show that he was extremely shocked and saddened to learn of his relapse and death. Dr. Drew described Goldstein's sobriety as "solid", and was a "great inspiration" for those seeking addiction treatment. He then went on to endorse the argument that Goldstein did not receive proper treatment for his recent PTSD diagnosis".

Sadly, this is the disease of addiction and relapse is always terrible for the fact that when one starts actively abusing substances again it generally is much heavier than when they put them down. There is no way of knowing whether your next drink or drug is going to be your last. There are usually only three options for an addict: jails, institutions, and death; friends and families can only hope and pray that their loved one finds the two former and that it does not have to come to the point of no return.

Our heart goes out to Adam's friends and families and we can only hope that they can find strength in a time of such sadness and loss.

We encourage you all to watch this short video and please feel free to send us your thoughts...

A&E TV's Intervention Covered Bret and how his Alcoholism Destroyed his Family

A&E TV's Intervention covered Bret and how Alcoholism destroyed his family. Before Bret's alcoholism progressed out of control he was a successful real estate mortgage broker, but that all changed when alcohol started to take its toll. Two years ago Bret's family attempted to offer him the opportunity of treatment via an Intervention which he accepted only to end up relapsing. Everything in Bret's life spiraled out of control after his relapse; he lost his wife, kids, and his career in the grips of his severe alcoholism. His family decided that they would give an Intervention one more shot before they turned their backs on him out of love.

Bret's story is not too dissimilar to every alcoholic's or drug addict's story, the circumstances are different for sure, but where every addict ends up is generally the same - jails, institutions, and death! Bret's disease told him that nothing would work and until he was mentally ready to rid alcohol from his life he would continue to drink. His relapse in a way reaffirmed the belief that an alcoholic can get better on their own, saying the same thing that many who try working a program of recovery say, "I tried that, but it didn't work and I won't put myself through that again". When a program of recovery does not work for someone it is usually because they did not let it work and they let their disease continue to influence the choices they make. When this happens, a relapse is only a matter of time and where they pick up is usually a lot worse than where they left off.

Intervention did a great job painting a picture of the pain that Bret was inflicting on his family and friends. Tears and anger are common themes in most families plagued by alcohol; the feeling of helplessness is present in everything. Intervention, with the help of Ken Seeley, a professional interventionist, gave Bret's family the tools to help Bret make the decision to change his life. I'm glad to report that they were successful in their endeavor to get Bret into treatment at Hope by the Sea in Laguna Niguel, California. Unfortunately, the years of drinking had done its damage to Bret's body and after 80 days of treatment he had become very sick and was diagnosed with advanced esophageal cancer. With 104 days sober, cancer spread throughout his body, Bret passed away this summer on June 19th, 2009.

Bret's 104 days of sobriety was a major achievement for him and he was able to give his family back the husband and father they had known. As sick as he was he made a point of being emotionally available to those who love him right up until the end of his days. Bret was able to make amends to those he had hurt before he died, giving his friends and family the ability to remember Bret for who he really was. I invite everyone to watch the show and the memoriam on A&E and send me your thoughts so that next week we can discuss this more...

Bret's Story
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Bret's Memoriam