Todd Taylor wasn’t the most popular kid in school, but he learned pretty quickly that walking around with drugs in his pockets and hosting keg parties in seventh grade would make him many friends.

“That’s something I remember just like it was yesterday,” Taylor said. “People accepted me and I was kind of the go-to guy for drugs at a very young age.”

Taylor’s mother was addicted to alcohol and drugs his entire life.

“She would go to bed drunk and wake up with a can of beer right next to her bed so she could start drinking first thing in the morning,” Taylor said.

Excessive alcohol consumption and drug use was just “normal” — Taylor didn’t know life could be any other way. By the time he was a teenager, alcoholism had set in.

“Growing up drinking was just second nature — everybody in my family was a drinker,” Taylor said.

As a kid, Taylor lived with his grandfather for a time, but he still leaned into drugs and alcohol.

“My granddad did the best he could and when I was with him, he would really crack the whip, but I just found new ways to do it,” Taylor said. “My grandpa was a good man, a hard worker, an honest man. But just by that time, when I was a teenager, it was too late. So he did the best he could.”

Taylor remembers the first time he tried methamphetamine.

“The first time I used meth was when I knew I was going to have a problem,” he said. “I went to a friend’s house, went down in the basement, where we were snorting lines. I knew right away ‘I’m in trouble.’ Instantly, I knew that I was hooked.”

The meth use started a little slow — he’d use on Friday nights when he was out drinking with friends to help him stay up later. But then he wouldn’t want to spend all day Saturday hungover, so instead he’d use meth all day to stay awake.

“Then one day bled into another and before I knew it, it was just an everyday habit, constantly,” he said.

Taylor said he knew from the beginning that life didn’t have to be that way — he didn’t have to be addicted to alcohol, meth and other drugs — but he just couldn’t stop. He’d tried addiction treatment. He’d gone to prison for extended periods of time, but as soon as he’d get out, he’d be looking for another drink — which would lead to looking for another hit of meth.

Taylor’s trouble with the law began with his first arrest, just one day shy of his 18th birthday.

“That’s the first time I was in jail, and then I was constantly in jail for disorderly conduct, assaults, stupid stuff, drunk-related,” he said.

At 26, Taylor was sent to federal prison for what he described as “a long time.”

“When I got out, I started drinking right away,” he said. “I couldn’t wait to get out and get started drinking. I started off right where I left off. For anybody that quits, it doesn’t matter if you quit for 10 years, 20 years or whatever, if you start again, you pick up right where you left off.”

It wasn’t long before drinking turned into using drugs and making bad decisions, Taylor said.

“The only way you can afford to do meth is to steal or sell, so I got right back into what put me in prison in the first place,” he said. “I’ve never been to jail or prison sober.”

There would be times where Taylor would go weeks and even months without using meth or drinking alcohol. He’d even go to treatment a few times, but never for the “right reasons,” he said.

It took nearly his entire adult life, but Taylor eventually found those reasons and the fortitude to seek addiction treatment and continue with his recovery supports even after he was discharged. While every day in recovery from addiction is significant, he hit a huge milestone on Tuesday — 900 days without drugs or alcohol.

It was the birth of his two grandsons that gave Taylor the glimmer of hope he needed. He wanted to be there for his grandchildren and knew that his son and daughter-in-law wouldn’t allow him to be around if he was drinking or using.

“I owe a lot to him and his wife,” Taylor said about his son. “My kid is the best kid in the world. He’s a great, great kid. Has a good job, is a good father, and a good husband. I put him through a lot and he just held his ground with the kids, and that’s what finally got me to sober up.”

He said that since finishing treatment and following through with 12-step meetings, and since coming into his grandkids’ lives, the “obsession” he’d feel to drink or to use has disappeared.

“That obsession has finally left me and it was all because of my grandkids,” he said. “I have the cutest grandkids you’ve ever seen in your life. And because of those kids, there’s no question at all that I’ll never use again. Never.”

Taylor was in his late 40s when he started his recovery journey. He said that while others in their 40s or 50s or even older may feel like they’re too far gone into addiction to recover, that’s not true.

“I know that it’s not too late because I was as big of a junkie as anybody out there, I was as big of a drunk as anybody out there,” he said.

In his final days and weeks of active addiction, Taylor began becoming a recluse, he said. He never left his home, except to buy drugs.

“My life was just horrible,” he said.

Now, recovery has given Taylor a new life to lead.

“My life is perfect right now,” he said. “In the last three years, I bought a home, a new motorcycle. I got my dream job a block away from my house. I just couldn’t ask for a better life. I have great friends that care for me and want me around, not just because I have drugs. It’s just an amazing life, being clean and sober.”

Taylor also credits his continued support from 12-step programs for helping him maintain his recovery. Through meetings, he’s made friends who understand what addiction feels like and can relate to having to learn how to live life without doing drugs or drinking alcohol.

“I keep a really tight circle with good people around me,” he said.

Quitting drugs and quitting alcohol was the “easy” part, Taylor said. The hard part, he said, is learning what to do with your free time and finding non-destructive activities to replace the time he would spend using drugs or drinking. The first step of that, he said, is to be surrounded by good friends.

“If you want to stay clean, hang out with clean people,” he said.

Resources for Recovery

YWCA of Fort Dodge

826 First Ave. N.

515-573-3931

ywcafd.org

Services: Clinically-managed residential treatment for women and women with children; intensive and extensive outpatient care for males and females.

Community and Family Resources

211 Ave. M West

515-576-7261

cfrhelps.org

Services: Prevention and education; detox; outpatient substance use treatment; recovery housing; mental health services; residential substance use treatment.

Alcoholics Anonymous

Visit www.aa-iowa.org for local meeting information.

Narcotics Anonymous

Visit www.na.org for local meeting information.

Rainbow to Recovery

An LGBTQ+ focused addiction recovery support group. Meets at 7 p.m. on the first and third Wednesdays at the Vincent House, 824 Third Ave. S. Search “Rainbow To Recovery” on Facebook for more information.

Your Life Iowa

Help for alcohol/drug/gambling concerns, suicidal thoughts and more.

Call 855-581-8111

Text 855-895-8398

Chat yourlifeiowa.org

Resources in other parts of the state can also be found at yourlife iowa.org.

Did we miss an organization or program?

Email kwingert@messengernews.net.