Close Up Radio Spotlights Author Jeffrey C. Parker

Pittsburgh, PA – Jeffrey C. Parker is a social worker specializing in addiction recovery and the author of Take the High Road: It's Not Where You Begin, It's How You Finish, a memoir of his battle to overcome addiction.

“We are the chosen ones who can’t put it down once we pick it up,” says Parker. “You choose the drug, but once you become addicted, it chooses you.”

Parker says he was on a path of self-destruction from the time he was small child. The youngest of three in an abusive environment, he had run away from home before he was seven years old. He started drinking at the age of 12. By the time he was a teenager, he was getting blackout drunk three times a week. Even worse, he suffered from epilepsy and struggled with his concentration, sleep, anger management and impulse control.

Through hard work and determination, Parker was able to change the course of his life from self-destruction to success and happiness.

Take the High Road is a must read for anyone struggling with addiction.

Though Parker has been clean and sober for 23 years, he still considers himself an addict.

“When you start thinking you have this beat, you're on your way toward a relapse,” says Parker. “I won't take credit for getting clean, but I will take credit for staying clean. I've had plenty of reasons I could have returned to it and every day I've chosen not to.”

Take the High Road: It's Not Where You Begin; It's How You Finish is available on Amazon

For additional information on our guest, please visit his page on LinkedIn