James… A life defined by discipline, simplicity and a beautiful recovery
(Trigger Warning: This story includes references to substance and alcohol use. It follows a person in recovery, sober since 2016. Please read only if you feel emotionally safe and grounded enough to do so.)
For James, the road to sobriety was not a straight line, but a jagged, decades-long odyssey that spanned state lines, shattered ambitions and a persistent, internal battle with the need for perfection. Now 46 years old, James is preparing to mark a decade of sobriety on May 8, 2026. It is a milestone that once seemed impossible for a man who, at his lowest point, believed his addiction would eventually lead to suicide.
Born in 1980 and raised in Prague, Oklahoma, James was a high-achiever from the start. He was the valedictorian of his high school class, a young man with a brilliant mind and a helicopter mother who watched his every move. When he left his small hometown to attend the University of Oklahoma in Norman to study computer engineering, the sudden lack of oversight combined with the pressures of his own high expectations created a volatile mix.
In Norman, James found a different kind of education. He later joked that he “majored in alcohol and hallucinogenics” during those years. The brilliant student who found standard coursework “distracting” soon found himself on academic probation. While James managed to “clean up” temporarily during his three semesters at OU, the seeds of a functional addiction had been sown.
Tragedy struck in his mid-20s, providing a grim catalyst for further spiral. His roommate and three other young men died in a car accident. Shortly after, James’ father passed away. With his parents having divorced when he was 12 and lacking a solid support group, James felt increasingly isolated. Seeking a fresh start and a way to break his substance abuse cycle, he moved to Texas in his early 20s.
In Texas, James appeared to be the picture of success to the outside world. He graduated from the University of Texas at Dallas with a degree in business administration, focusing on management information systems. He worked as a personal trainer and did computer work, maintaining his physique and his professional reputation while secretly consuming a cocktail of opiates, Suboxone and alcohol.
“I was still functioning,” he recalled of his time in Texas.
He was smart enough to avoid overdoses, stayed hydrated and never admitted to his role models that he was drowning. However, the legal system eventually caught up with him. In 2001, he was pulled over with marijuana hidden in a humidor. What followed was a series of misdemeanor charges and a terrifying felony arrest for GHB, also known as liquid ecstasy, that he did not actually have on him.
Though a judge eventually threw out the felony case after two years, the damage was done. Facing the prospect of a 50-year sentence and unable to find traditional work with a felony charge on his record, James felt the walls closing in. The financial crash of 2008 deepened his despair. From 2008 to 2009, he spiraled into a deep depression, refusing to leave his house, selling his home in a short sale and “eating pills” to numb the pain.
“I started realizing I had a problem,” he said.
“I started realizing I had a problem.”
“Drug court saved my life.”
His life became a dangerous blur of illicit drug sales, a broken engagement and dental problems caused by neglect and substance use. Desperate, he called his mother for help. Though she initially hung up on him, she eventually arrived in Texas with a trailer to bring him back to Oklahoma.
The return to Oklahoma was not an immediate salvation. James took a job at the same hospital where his mother worked, but his addiction followed him. He pushed himself to the brink, attending school, working 75 days straight with little to no sleep while using meth and blowing his earnings at casinos. His obsessive-compulsive need to be perfect at everything meant he never felt like he amounted to enough, fueling the cycle of use.
After leaving the hospital to avoid jeopardizing his mother’s employment, James’ life descended into further chaos. He racked up four criminal charges over two years. His home was raided by police, and he found himself betrayed by those he ran with. Despite the danger, James’ ego remained intact.
“I never felt like I was in danger because I was smarter and quicker than anyone else I ran with,” he said.
His turning point came in the confines of a jail cell. Entering at 165 pounds, he eventually put on 35 pounds and earned the nickname “Pod Father” for his ability to maintain order by distributing food and games to his cellmates in exchange for silence. It was during this period of incarceration that he was eventually enrolled in the Cleveland County Treatment Court program in 2016.
Treatment Court was the bridge to The Virtue Center, where James underwent a full intake assessment. It was a grueling process. He went through four or five therapists before finding the right fit, a man whose blunt, “brass tacks” approach finally resonated with him.
“He saved me,” James said of his therapist. .
Through group counseling at The Virtue Center, James began to understand the mechanics of his disease.
In Treatment Court, James found the structure he had lacked for decades. He started a softball team, the DC Risers—the “DC” standing for Drug Court. He noticed a telling pattern: every player who invested in their own uniform graduated from the program, while those who didn’t failed to complete it. He also found inspiration in Judge Michael Tupper, eventually naming his Vizsla puppy “Tupper” in the judge’s honor. Tupper accompanied James to Treatment Court graduation.
“Drug court changed my life,” James said. “It redefined who I was. It gave me tools in so many ways to find out who I was. It’s OK to not be everything that people wanted.”
Since being released from jail in 2016, James has remained clean. The “functional addict” who once studied computer engineering has finally realized his long-held vision. In April 2026, he became a board-certified chiropractor, a feat he balances with his self-described status as a “board-certified addict.”
His life today is defined by discipline and simplicity. He cooks all his own meals, works out daily and provides training at a local gym, reads and avoids the noise of television, radio and social media. He is currently developing a non-profit concept that combines physical training, healthy eating and chiropractic care specifically for those in recovery. He also has plans to write a book about his experiences.
When asked why he survived when so many of his peers—including his roomate—did not, James is reflective.
“I have a bigger thing to do,” he said. “I’m trying to fill in the hole.”
James shared a poem called “Open your eyes…”
Addiction is a prediction based on the past,
A projection of our own fear that good can not last,
Understanding is knowledge empathy is the key,
We all grasp the locks that could set the afflicted free,
If you are scared of what might come to pass,
Open your eyes and treat today like it’s your last.
If you refuse and choose to ignore
It will be you left alone with no one at your door.
We are all but roots of the same tree,
We’re helping you open your eyes and see.
For those still struggling with drugs or alcohol use, James offers a perspective born of hard-won peace.
“You have to have someone who believes in you with no ulterior purpose,” he said.
Describing himself now as honest, hard-working and kind, James has finally found what all the drugs in the world couldn’t provide: the ability to be comfortable in his own skin.
“I have no free time,” he said. “I work hard, and I feel great.”
Kudos to your bright future, Dr. James.
Jan S. Astani
Board Member, and Contributing Author
