There was a time that seemed not that long ago when the only thing I needed to worry about was what kind of drug was flowing through my veins. Opioids, benzos, amphetamines where my drug of choice. All at the same time of course. Don't forget the cocaine. Some booze was in there, too. That feeling of being dopesick and chugging on some Taca cheap ass vodka will never leave my memory. That feeling of having my side hurt only realizing it was my liver after washing down a handful of Vicodin with flat beer. There were many days when I woke up broken in my small apartment in Cincinnati that I thought "how much worse can my life possibly get?" I found out.I don't know if I was born an addict. I know my behaviors certainly molded me into one. That roller coaster of crippling depression briefly came to a screeching halt when I found opioids. There was my solution, my lover, and my best friend in one place. There was a time when I thought the real problem was simply not having an unlimited supply of drugs. When I came to San Francisco only to have unfettered access to them, I began a cycle of self destruction that was past my ability to rationally manage.8 years of on and off homelessness11 trips to jail2 methadone clinic runsAmphetamines for months on endRapeAttempt on my lifechipped teethBlack eyesBroken noses34 abscessesYet here I am. There is a scene in "Black Tar Heroin" when I look out the window. I say outloud to no one"Sometimes it makes me happy."I kept chasing the sometimes.The important thing is that I believed some day I would get off that shit. I believe some day I would give up everything I knew, everything I loved (my drugs). Just like you.Some day, you will too.Some day, you will send me a message "Tracey, I just wanted to let you know..."I can't wait for that fucking message.I will love you until I receive it.I will do everything I can to keep you safe.I will work to make the world a safer place for people like us.Because you deserve it.My book is coming out in March. A fucking book being sold in bookstores. I got my author page yesterday. I find it hard to look at. I was supposed to be dead ten times over. Here I am.For all the people who doubt you, they doubted me too.Let's prove them all wrong.