Facing 65 Counts—Burglaries, Larcenies, Possession—He Committed To Sobriety

Derek Benson of Investing in Sobriety shares his journey from a highly structured childhood and elite athletics through pills, escalating addiction, crime, prison, and finally a sustainable recovery built on a mental-physical-spiritual blueprint and strong community.   Highlights: * Early structure: military/boarding school; learned independence and discipline. * First intoxication and growing access in high school; transfers to Avon Old Farms and The Hun School. * Purdue years: injuries, pills in the locker room, and the slide from use → misuse → addiction. * “Blind alley” spiral: funding use, losing work and relationships. * Turning point: 12/12/2014—turned himself in; first exposure to AA in jail; later transferred to McDougall-Walker (high bond, no outside meetings). * Letter that changed things: a family friend visits, connects him to 12-step support. * Court offered Connecticut Valley Hospital (CVH) 42-day treatment; he took it, then faced a judge’s 10-year cap warning—fueling commitment to change. * Recovery today: daily mental-physical-spiritual balance and a healthy circle of influence. * Practical advice for the first 24 hours: reach out for help and stay open-minded. * Derek’s project: Investing in Sobriety—conversations on personalized recovery blueprints. More on Investing In Sobriety here: https://www.investinginsobriety.com/   Chapters 00:00 – Intro, gratitude for recovery community; Derek at ~10 years sober.
 03:20 – Childhood & military/boarding school; structure and early independence.
 06:25 – First drunk; access increases; transfer to Avon Old Farms.
 08:00 – Senior year path to The Hun School; athletic exposure. 10:32 – Purdue: pills after injuries; shift toward addiction. 
12:53 – Use vs. misuse vs. addiction; trouble at college party.
 28:21 – “Blind alley” metaphor; life narrows around using. 
30:06 – Losing work, unhealthy circles, doing anything for money.
 31:41 – Criminal activity escalates; path to prison.
 33:38 – 12/12/2014: turns himself in (beginning of recovery).
 41:04 – First AA in Hartford Correctional.
 42:17 – Transfer to McDougall-Walker; no outside meetings; pivotal letter to family friend.
 45:47 – 65 pending charges; attorney lays out CVH option.
 47:01 – CVH 42-day program; willingness and early momentum. 
49:27 – Judge’s 10-year cap warning; why he doubled down on change.
 52:48 – Derek’s recovery blueprint (mental-physical-spiritual).
 55:55 – Building a healthy circle of influence.
57:37 – Advice for day one: reach out & be open-minded.
 58:39 – Derek’s podcast: Investing in Sobriety.   ----Across the Web---- 🌎 CCAR Website https://www.ccar.us ✉️ Donate: https://ccar.us/donate/ 🎙Recovery Matters Podcast (Apple Music): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... 🎙Recovery Matters Podcast (Spotify): https://open.spotify.com/show/1wGUMMO... 🗣Recovery Matters Podcast TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@recoverymatterspodcast? 🗣Recovery Matters Podcast Instagram https://www.instagram.com/recoverymatterspodcast/ 🗣CCAR Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CCAR4Recovery 📸CCAR Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ccar4recovery 🐦CCAR Twitter: https://twitter.com/ccar4recovery