My name is Gary Freeman. I’m 46 years old. I grew up in a broken home where my dad beat on my mom. My parents got divorced when I was young. After that, my mom got with another man who raised me, but my grandfather became my person.
He was a member of the American Legion, the VFW, the Eagles, and he had his own bar. I grew up in these establishments, spending many nights and weekends there, which led me to start drinking at a young age. This led me down a horrible path, causing harm to myself and my family for over 25 years.
I ran from state to state, using and abusing every drug in my path to get what I needed. I lost my parents, wife, kids, jobs—everything, including my soul, heart, and feelings. I turned into a wild person, only caring about myself. I’ve been to jail, institutions, and death. I’ve done it all over and over again.
In 2019, I was sent to prison for two years. After getting out, I went right back to the path of destruction. Ten months later, I was in trouble again with a D.O.E. case and on my way back to prison. I told them I had a drug problem and needed help. Instead of sending me back to prison, I was sent to a drug program in Dayton, Ohio, called Woodhaven. I completed the program in 75 days, where I found out about A.A., N.A., and God.
From 2021 to 2025, I’ve been in and out of treatment, with four overdoses—two requiring life support for several days. This is my fourth time at Whole Truth. The first three times, I wasn’t ready. I manipulated my recovery to fit what I wanted and never worked the program correctly. I just did it my way, taking advantage of all my duties at Whole Truth and only playing the part without fully surrendering.
Once I was able to fully surrender, start doing what I was supposed to do, and put everything in God’s hands—putting Him first—I was able to turn my life around. My God is good, and He has given me my life back.
I’ve been at Whole Truth longer than I ever have before. I’m loved by many, and I have people who hold me accountable. They’ve given me back Whole Truth, where I have several brothers in God. I have a recovery family, a great support system, and several friends in recovery who have loved me until I could love myself.
Now I work in retreatment, giving back what was given to me. I pay my bills, I have a car, and I’m rebuilding relationships with my family. I’ve grown tremendously as a man. I go to meetings, church, and serve. I do whatever I’m asked, and all glory goes to God. Thank you, Jesus.
Gary is 110 days sober. He has been a part of Whole Truth since 2023; this is his third time here with us. This go-around is different for Gary. He is very serious about his recovery and truly wants to live a different life. He believes that with God and support, it’s possible.
He helps all the new guys when they first come in and has been a positive role model for them. He supports his House Manager, Robert Edwards, in a big way. We see a lot of growth in his dedication to finding and working a program that works for him. He is no longer seeking the instant gratification of the past.
His relationship with God is stronger, and he is leaning more on his faith and trust in Him. Recovery is not linear—we slip, we get back up. As long as there is breath in our lungs, we keep trying, learning from the bottoms we find ourselves in due to relapse, what we did that took us there, and what we could have done differently.
We are proud of Gary and his accomplishments and look forward to seeing what God has planned for him in the future.