Flying high, living large, crashing and burning only to do it again! I endured two full cycles and had to roll my jeep off of an I95 bridge onto an I295 highway 40 feet below before my battle with success and alcohol was begun to be understood. As the costs and societal impacts of alcoholism and drug addiction mount alongside an ever growing pressure to succeed, society can benefit greatly from exposure to main stream stories of recovery. Unfortunately most believe alcoholism is a story derived from gutter drunks and the homeless. They simply do not see it as a main stream issue. My book provides a fresh perspective. It is about living with the disease of alcoholism and a lifelong struggle with success. I only came to believe it a disease during my recovery after writing my book, The 'hide in the shadows' mantra of the recovery community has dominated recovery since the late 60's. Meanwhile the belief that alcoholics and drug addicts are gutter drunks, misguided teens or alley way dwelling addicts has purveyed our society's front line beliefs on addiction. This fallacy must be ended. Addiction exists in the lives of all walks of life. My story is a living example of that cold, hard fact.I believe it will take people from our business and academic ranks who are willing to come into the light in order to create change as I am doing with my story. We must alter the perception of who and what alcoholics and drug addicts are if we hope to turn the tide on the problem. This can be done without breaking the traditions of recovery programs built on anonymity, as it can be done by people who are simply willing to state they are in long term recovery and share their positive turnaround experiences. My life is a wild series of ups and downs, flavored with a wicked temper fueled by alcohol, high natural drive and a battle over love and money. It can serve as an example of how we can better impact future generations in the areas of success and the use of alcohol and drugs. My book shares a story of growing up in a small town, to making my way into an investment banking program at age 24 on Wall Street, to a felony OUI conviction at age 26, and then a long, challenging path to growth as a human being.
About the Author: Joshua Hayward is 42 years old and is a person of long term recovery (in his 7th year). His professional career spans 20 years of venture capital and corporate finance. He has written a blog for the Bangor Daily News in Bangor Maine and had several articles published in print. Josh became known as a local talk radio professional guest on one of Maine's most popular talk radio shows, The George Hale & Ric Tyler show on the Voice of Maine. His weekly spot was known as the "money men". He has endured a life-long battle with both 'success' and alcoholism. Though now in long term recovery, he did spend another 2 years, 7 months and a few days sober (but who was counting) after his first offense Felony OUI accident conviction on June 4th 1999. He suffered a terrible accident behind the wheel of his vehicle while very intoxicated on November 22nd, 1998. As a result of that accident he was sentenced to 6 months in county jail, a 6 year loss of his driver's license and 2 years of probation beyond his sentence. It was a literal "Brooks Brothers to Blues Brothers" fall. Today he lives with his wife Elizabeth, who has been by his side since just before the accident, and their daughters Allie and Carly ages 11 and 9. He wrote the book in the Winter of 2008/09 but did not act on it until being prompted by his mother in the summer of 2014 after she emailed it to him and he confirmed with her he had deleted the original. Since writing the book he endured a period of good recovery and then several years of dry drunk life. Only after almost destroying his marriage nearly 3 years ago has he been able to work on true development, recovery and growth. He is very thankful for his life today, in particular his daughters and wife. He wishes to share his experiences and life education with others. He is working on writing two other books at this time.