Andrew Drasen reflects on his experiences with drug addiction, incarceration, and recovery in his memoir, A Vision of Hope.

Drasen recalls fondly his years growing up in a working class family in Racine, Wisconsin. After first experimenting with alcohol and marijuana during sixth grade, his marijuana usage accelerated in high school and he became a “full-fledged pothead” and started selling weed. Caught with marijuana and narcotics his junior year, he was arrested and sentenced to probation.

Drasen didn’t take probation seriously and continued to use and sell drugs after graduating in 2007. His spiraling habit, which encompassed cocaine, prescription drugs, hallucinogens, and heroin, led to multiple incarcerations, treatment programs, and relapses over the ensuing years. While undergoing an eight-month drug treatment program in the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility in 2019, he kept a journal to survive the monotony of prison life and to come to terms with his actions.

Chapters alternate between those journal entries and a chronological account of his life, though Drasen divulges little of events occurring after his release six years ago. Although some anecdotes seem superfluous, the gripping narrative provides insight into addiction, incarceration, and his own personal growth. Casting addiction as a public health matter, he also raises awareness of mental health issues facing addicts and advocates for prison reform.

Drasen’s prose is raw, and he writes unflinchingly of dark episodes in his past, such as witnessing overdoses and his own suicidal thoughts. These disturbing moments underscore Drasen’s point that addiction is not a choice. His gratefulness for friends and family and sense of purpose now in motivating others who feel broken to realize their potential provides a tone of positivity as he aspires to “be a living example that you can overcome.”

Overall, this is a compelling redemption memoir that comprises part of a self-help trilogy, including a volume of reflections and a workbook, aimed at helping individuals recover from addiction, loss, or trauma.

Also available as an ebook.