The Road to Recovery

At 20, I had my whole life ahead of me— a wonderful family, a good education, and a bright future. I should have been starting my journey upward, but instead, I was stumbling off a cliff.

Thankfully, that was not the end of my story. I was rescued and restored from the deep, dark pit I had fallen into. My name is Subhasis Chatterjee, and this is my life story.

Early Life

I grew up in a middle-class Bengali family, the only son of parents who did everything they could to give me a good education. My father, who had lost his mother at a young age, was determined to provide me a better life. I received everything a father could possibly give his son.

But during my college years, I started hanging out with a different crowd. I wanted to be seen with the “hep” group and to be different from the routine life I had known. My experimental nature first led me to this new group of friends—and eventually, to drugs.

The Beginning of Addiction

I was accepted into an MBA program in Kolkata after clearing the CAT exams, just as my father had hoped. But while I studied, I also experimented with drugs. It began with marijuana and hash, which seemed harmless at first, but eventually I moved on to heroin and later to brown sugar.

By the mid-80s, my life had begun to unravel. I became dependent, obsessed, and unrecognizable to those who once knew me. I manipulated my parents and friends for money, and even turned to crime to support my habit.

Attempts to Quit

Despite my addiction, I managed to complete my MBA. I realized that if I wanted to live a normal life, I had to stop. With my parents’ support, I went through painful withdrawals at home. I hallucinated, injured myself, and barely survived the ordeal.

After recovery, I found work with Goodlass Nerolac Paints as a Marketing Executive and later worked in the paint industry for over a decade. But soon, another problem crept in—alcohol.

The Grip of Alcoholism

I believed alcohol would not harm me the way drugs had. But over time, I became dependent again. My drinking pattern turned into binges—ten days of heavy drinking followed by days of weakness.

In 1991, I got married, hoping it would change me. Instead, my alcoholism worsened, and after three years, my marriage ended in divorce. Once again, I had lost relationships, jobs, and opportunities.

Rehabilitation and Loss

Finally, I admitted I needed treatment. I went to a detox center and then to Arunoday Midway Home, a rehabilitation center. It was here that I learned that addiction is a disease—progressive, destructive, and powerful.

That same year, my father passed away from a heart attack. I have always felt responsible, knowing how much my years of addiction had caused him stress and sorrow. His death shook me deeply.

Finding Hope

At rehab, I was introduced to the 12-Step Psycho-Spiritual Program, the most effective path for recovery worldwide. I discovered these principles were rooted in the Bible.

I read verses that pierced my heart:
“It is not the healthy but the sick who need a doctor. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

For the first time, I realized there was a God who came for people like me—broken and lost. I came to understand that salvation is not by works, but by the grace of God alone.

A New Purpose

Though I relapsed several times, by God’s grace I have been sober since 2002. I decided to dedicate my life to helping others struggling with addiction.

The money is far less than in the corporate sector, but peace and contentment cannot be bought. Over the past two decades, I have regained much of what I lost, though life still has challenges.

Most importantly, I now live with purpose—helping others out of the same pit I was once trapped in.

Final Words

There is hope. Countless people have come out of addiction to live joyful, sober, and successful lives.

As one of our program sayings goes:
“I may not be what I could have been, I may not be what I should have been, but I thank God that, with His grace, I am not what I used to be.”

_{All images used are for illustrative purposes only and have been sourced from Pexels.}