By: Jeremy Woodley
I was born and raised here in Brantford, Ontario. I’m an indigenous man, my mom was from Six Nations. As a kid, I attended Echo Place School all throughout my public school years. Then I spent 3 years combined at both Pauline Johnson and North Park, before being a high school drop out. Later I was able to go back and finish grade 12 at Tollgate Tech.
Throughout my teen years and into my early 20’s, I had struggled with alcohol. Then in 1993, I started to experiment with drugs. This carried on until I hit my bottom during the Spring of 2000. In the early morning of June 21/2000, I left Brantford to get help. I went to Hamilton men’s detox that night, and I’ve been sober ever since. Now, I’ve been 18 years sober, ever since the age of 24. All during this time, the aftermath of coming from a broken home, toward the later part of the 90’s, early 2000’s, I didn’t see my family, nor my childhood friends I grew up with. I struggled at holding down a job, and addiction affected my relations with my loved ones.
Coming from a broken home, I was insecure. Funny thing, when I applied myself to anything, I could do it. But substance abuse took over and ruined me for several years. Then I hit the bottom I needed to hit, to wake me up. I was done feeling lost, inadequate, unloved. I was done hurting those who did try to help me. So, enough was enough, I got to the point I didn’t want to drink or take drugs anymore. I wanted to get help and change my life around.
So, I left Brantford, and after a 2 week stay in the detox centre, I ended up at G&B House, a men’s recovery home in Owen Sound. I’ve since lived in Owen Sound, where I help others as a Personal Support Worker (PSW) through my own business Jeremy Woodley Care Services. And over the years, I’ve made frequent visits home to Brantford/Six Nations.
With the recent loss of my Mother and loss of a few other friends who succumbed to addictions, I felt inspired and wanted to write my life autobiography. In an effort to help people, and show that there’s a better way of living, and things can turn around… that dreams do come true.
Submitted Photo
I’ve called my book: Jeremy, Jesus, And The Beatles.
It’s a real life story of me, a young man who turned his life around, found his Faith, and reconciled with his family and friends. It’s also about how music such as the Beatles had an impact on my life. Along the way, I’ve had other musicians who have touched my heart, and I’ve been able to meet the likes of Bret Hart, Mitch Marner, Connor Brown, and Roger Hodgson (formerly of Supertramp).
You know what? I’ve always wanted to meet, Bret Hart and Roger Hodgson, plus I got to meet Mitch Marner who’s my favourite NHL player. I’ve always wanted to walk across Abbey Road barefoot, I’ve done that 3 times now.
A person doesn’t have to stay stuck or trapped. Get help now while you can. My story of no matter how life starts out, one can always turn things around.
Join us on Saturday, September 8th from 11am to 2pm for a Book Signing event that’s taking place at Gospel Lighthouse on King George road. You can purchase my book at: Chapters/Indigo, Amazon, Word Alive Press, and generally anywhere Christian books are sold. For those looking for the eBook version, you can check out: Amazon’s Kindle Store, Apple iBooks, Kobo, Google Play, Scribd, and in Adobe PDF format for additional vendors.
