This Sober Life - Journal

1/26/2009	Cemetery Walks Now available
The New book is available online check it out: CLICK ME

12/1/2008	Cemetery Walks
Cemetery Walks http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.... New book available Christmas 2008

9/19/2008	GO HERE FOR MORE JOURNAL ENTRIES
More here: CLICK ME

11/2/2007

I've picked enough scabs

I've picked enough scabs and tasted enough of my own blood to realize that all this scratching at the surface always only leaves me with a more prominent scar. Whether I think I can force myself to forget certain things and move on is irrelevant to the fact that my mind will go wherever it decides and in doing so I will acquire all the emotional souvenirs that comes with all its time travel. I can sit and repeat to myself the typical slogans of, "Just let go" or "Let it be" but the fact that I have to sit and remind myself of such slogans shows I haven't done much of either. I realize now more than ever that I will always carry with me all that I'm made up of. Whether good or bad, wanted or unwanted and knowing there isn't much room for negotiation on my capacity for one or the other. Believe me, knowing this doesn't take away the instinctual wanting to revert back to childish reactions of stomping my feet and whining, "This isn't fair." Which I'll admit, does seem a much easier slogan to repeat and believe in. But all in all I think a time does come and may have just arrived in which you stand up and realize there's just something much bigger happening, bigger than feelings, bigger than emotions and bigger than me and it is time to just take some things for what they are, not because it's right, not because it's fair and certainly not because I feel redeemed but because the time has come where all that matters is no longer just me and with that comes the obligation to move my focus to what can be and away from what has already been done. More here: Blog

11/8/2006

2007 Boston Marathon

As you might already know, I'll be running the 2007 Boston Marathon to help support the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. All the money I raise will go directly to their program and will make a difference. If you would like to make a donation GO HERE Donating through this website is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to support my goal. Every dollar counts and will be greatly appreciated. To learn more about the charity go to www.Mspcc.org Many thanks for your support -- and feel free to forward this to anyone who you think might want to donate too! Thanks so much -Dave Breslin

9/7/2005	This Sober Life on MySpace
To keep people up to date with some of my random thoughts, new writings and whatever else I decide to throw out there, I have grabbed a spot on myspace.com. Take a look here and I'll try to update as much as I can...Thanks for all the support!!! More news here: http://blog.myspace.com/thissoberlife

5/16/2005	The Noyse Magazine
Huge thanks to Josh and everyone else at The Noyse Magazine for featuring me and some of my more recent work. Check Them out!!!

4/21/2005

Cemetery Walks

Title Piece to my upcoming collection. Cemetery Walks There's something about the sound of your own footsteps in a cemetery. It's almost as if you're defining and comparing the difference between life and death with each steps beat. Some days I walk real heavy stomping my feet, snapping my fingers and listening to the echo through the silent air. Other days I'll walk without noticing sound at all. But from time to time I slow myself to a dragging stop, hold my breath and listen real close.

3/5/2005

A newer piece

Eyes I look into my eyes I look into a broken mirror I have dropped my disguise I am beginning to see things clearer I look into my eyes I look at a reflective teardrop I’ve got scars on my mind thoughts that bleed and just will not stop Come look into my eyes look at them past the flesh and tissue come with me as I walk you through the dark alleys that are my mind Come look into my eyes see the scenes that will not leave me feel the pain I feel inside me think the thoughts you’ve heard in my mind Close your eyes now. Close your eyes, look at your mind are you about to become me or will you set your sights not to die

1/23/2005

5 years sober 1/22/05

Just a reflection piece I wrote yesterday, thanks to everyone for your continuous support....Dave ---------- and so now it was five years ago to the day that I awoke shattered as a person and torn between a decision to carry on inviting chaos into my life, end my life or to reevaluate myself and learn how to live without excuses. To look back on it in retrospect the right decision seems so obvious but the weakness I was so used to carrying left me at a loss when it came to acting on my own. While the past five years has changed me in so many ways there's still one thought that remains a ringing bell, a thought I heard so early on in my struggle toward independence. Now at a point in which my sobriety has surpassed the amount of time I spent dependant I can't help but reflect on how much control I have on how relevant either one should or has or will be in my life. I remember clearly how unsatisfying the idea of AA hit me when I realized the majority of the people I sat with in most meetings had been there five, ten some twenty years, week after week some even daily still living with their past as so much a part of their present. It was just that thought that turned me off to this traditional route and with the idea that I wouldn't become this way and that what I wanted to leave in the past would someday be just that I fought through recovery on my own on what I'm sure many would predict was to be a path toward failure. With time now as the only thing that could and has been the true teller I wrestle with the question of how successful I have been. In sobriety I am completely successful and now know that I have gained the tools needed to remain that way and plan to but as far as not allowing my past to remain so relevant in my present I'm just not sure how well I've done or should try to. As a drunk I was known for just that by many and now sober I'm known for just that by more than as many, both are by my own doing but neither were ever expected. I have learned that it is part of my personal nature to though I'm not proud of it dwell on things and allow them to occupy my thoughts more than I'd like but I accept it because it is also part of my nature and interesting to me to continually learn and dissect things about myself (hence this infinite reflection). I am also aware that without my endless sifting and collecting of thoughts throughout the past five years I would have lacked the strength and understanding to make it through but I don't enjoy my intentions contradicting themselves so I'm left wondering if that in this aspect I have failed to overcome my past or if my intentions were just not feasible. As an alcoholic it is said that once and alcoholic always an alcoholic and that whenever this theory is tested, dismissed or overlooked one is bound for disaster therefore in order to beat the odds one must always remind themselves of this fact and where and what exactly disaster entails. This being true I can't help but realize I may have been partly off in setting realistic goals but I don't think this should be an excuse to compromise too far. I know even in knowing all of this I want now that my sobriety has surpassed my time of disaster not to be known or categorized or even focused on who I once was but for who I' have and will continue to become. Now five years sober and with this thought I will keep in mind and live by the fact that I will always be an alcoholic but an alcoholic will never again be who I am.

11/4/2004

Its been too long

Isn't it about time for some new stuff!!! War On T.V. I watched the entire war on T.V. never saw one drop of blood. They show us plenty of doing on TV never show us what it does. I think it's time to turn off the TV allow our instincts to be our judge. All these eye for an eye philosophies have left us blind enough. ---------------------------------------------- Wake Up Early Sunday morning just before the sun comes someone’s standing high above us No one seems to notice it’s too well that he knows this He throws himself right down on us All across the same town there’s someone hiding something they don’t want the world to notice Rapists, thieves and murderers and though you may not think so its affecting every one of us The church bells ring and millions of Americans smile out their windows at the same sun. Some over the weather almost none over each other and most over their own reflection. With one rotation of the Earth a new day has been born, the news displays the afterbirth No one’s ever shocked it never seems to stop and we wonder why we’re all so fucking lost. -------------------------------------------- I'll post more soon----- Dave

3/30/2004	Thanks!!
Thanks very much to Nicole and the Mass. Department of Social Services for inviting me out to speak with them today. I hope everyone enjoyed the talk as much as I did......

2/2/2004

Update

First of all and once again I have to say thanks to everyone for all the new and continued support - It really means a lot to me --- Its been awhile since I've written here but its only because things have been so busy - Since the last time I wrote, I have traveled across country, reached my fourth year of sobriety and have been working hard at finalizing my new manuscript - All in all I can't complain ---- Heres something I started working on today, when it's complete I'll re-post it: (Work In Progress) Miles stretched out behind me miles un seen ahead miles aren't what make me its the footprints I place in them

12/2/2003	Sponsor to Sponsor
I would Like to thank SponsorToSponsor.com for honoring me as this months Feature Focus on their website, Thanks so much for the support! - To see the feature go here

11/17/2003	Higher Ground Reading
Thanks to everyone who came out to both participate in and listen to the reading last Thursday at The Higher Ground Coffee House..... We had some really great talent come out for the open mic and it was awesome to be able to read some of my new work for the first time to such a good crowd.....Thanks again, Dave

11/14/2003	Lowell YWCA
Thanks to everyone at the Lowell YWCA for inviting me out to speak with them Wednesday Night, I hope everyone enjoyed the night as much as I did... Good Luck to all of you.....Dave

10/10/2003

Update!!!!

Ok, First off I just want to thank everyone for all the emails, letters and support it all means so much, thank you.... Things have been real busy, which is good.... Originally I was shooting to have my new book completed by now but suddenly I found myself diving head first into writing a screenplay and now it seems I can't stop.... I'm about a month into it and about halfway through the first draft -- So far, so good.... As for the book it shouldn't be much longer I'm still finding time to work on it and I can't wait to get the new stuff out there....I'll keep you posted - In the meantime, I have finally set a date to read at the Higher Ground Coffee House in Lowell, Ma. I'll be reading both my new and my old stuff as the feature poet for the first spoken word open mike night on Thurs. November 13th... The night starts at 7:30...I hope to see you there....Email me for directions ...Thats about all for now, Take care, Dave

9/25/2003	ThisSoberLife.com on WBCN 104.1
Thanks to Adam 12 from Boston's WBCN radio for mentioning This Sober Life on his show today, and helping spread the word...Listen to his show weekdays from 10-3 or go here.

8/21/2003	Booking talks for the new school year
I'm now booking talks for the upcoming months...If you are interested in having me speak or read at your school, event or venue, please send me an email here: dave@davebreslin.com - Thanks, Dave

8/6/2003	Write a review
Have you read This Sober Life? What did you think? To write a review for amazon.com go here.

6/5/2003	Update
Just wanted to check in and say thanks to everyone for all the support and encouraging emails, They mean a lot. Things have been pretty busy lately and I have been doing a lot writing for my next book which I'm hoping to finish by September. So keep checking back for updates and new work to be posted....Thanks again, Dave

4/5/2003

Middlesex Beat

Thanks to the Middlesex Beat and Janet Lawson for the article about THIS SOBER LIFE in this months edition: This Sober Life The Poetic Chronicle of a Young Man’s Journey from Alcoholism to Sobriety Dave Breslin’s new book of poetry, This Sober Life, poignantly narrates his struggle as a recovering alcoholic, from addiction and depression through an emotional search for his true self. The author’s soulful, brooding image on the book’s cover, reveals a vulnerable, yet determined young man who has seen a lot of life. Growing up in a comfortable family from a suburban Massachusetts town, Dave didn’t fit the stereotypical profile of a teen alcoholic. “It started young, I had my first beer at thirteen, it became heavy at sixteen, and by seventeen it was a problem,” he recounts. Dave was a good-looking, sensitive kid, but not athletic and not academically outstanding. Struggling with feeling lost, he found his place among the party crowd. “I’ve always been a little shy, and it helped me open up,” he explains, about the motivation to drink. “It helped me become the life of the party. It was a need to be accepted.” The catalyst for recovery was a long process. “People were telling me to change, but I didn’t really want to,” Dave says. “I can stop whenever I want to,” he would insist. Meanwhile, his life revolved around probation visits and court hearings connected to alcohol-related arrests. After three weeks of drinking during a Christmas break from college, and a whole night of partying, Dave was deeply impacted when he saw his swollen face in a hallway mirror. Unable to be awakened later that day, and shaking with tremors when finally becoming conscious, he realized the severity of the situation. “When I woke up, the depression was so far down, that it was either kill myself, or get myself together,” Dave recalls. Leaving school and a job, he spent six months with close family. Their constant love supported his recovery, and writing poetry helped him get through many difficult days. “Writing was my substitution in the beginning, and this book shows my recovery - it was my rehab. All of my poetry deals with self-evaluation and self-realization.” This Sober Life reveals Dave’s journey into the darkest depths of himself, a sometimes angry and confused battle against seen and unseen forces. His poem, No Hope begins with, “The word suicide is twined in barb wire, wrapped tight around my brain. Every time I try to peel it off, I’m cut a little closer to insane.” Letter To Happiness, is an angst-filled love letter penned to those elusive feelings of well-being, “I hope that when you receive this, it will be soon that you return. So hurry back and don’t forget me. Without you my life is madness. I miss and can’t wait to feel you. Sincerely yours, Sadness.” The book’s poetic progression glimmers with hope though, in My Heaven and Find Myself and Live, uncovering an introspective and growing appreciation of life. A life, that has shown Dave Breslin painful glimpses of fragile mortality, with the loss of his best friend and several others in alcohol-related tragedies. To All of You says it simply, “I can’t show you my mind, but I’ll tell you in words, there’s a side to all this that no one deserves, it’s full of pain, loss and sickness and it only ends two ways; You either fight and win or you die staying the same.” Beat poet, Charles Bukowski once wrote “These words I write keep me from total madness.” Likewise, Dave Breslin’s poetry is a mirror, reflecting his harrowing dance through the dark corners of life, then guiding him toward the light of a new self. His tattooed skin art conveys strong meaning too, including the Japanese word for sobriety etched on his stomach, a declaration and celebration of brave commitment. Dave’s life is an ongoing journey to self-esteem, “Feeling that you’re worth showing yourself to other people,” he says, “Being able to be your true self - I think that’s cool.” Now twenty-three, Dave visits high schools, colleges and rehab centers, speaking about the hidden dangers of alcohol abuse and addiction. “By walking away from alcohol, I learned who I was, and I’m a better person,” he tells them, enjoying the feedback he receives. “That’s a high I didn’t feel before. Now, I’m being praised for something more positive.” For Dave, every day is another step on the pathway to happiness, often found in the rhythm of music, love, and writing new poetry that explores personal spirituality. “I believe in the power of the mind. People have inner strength they don’t know about,” he states. “My drive comes from my heart,” he concludes earnestly. The evidence of that compelling truth shines clearly in his bright eyes.

3/26/2003	Salve Regina University
Thanks to everyone at SRU for inviting me out to talk with you last night...I enjoyed the night and hope you all did as well.....Take care......Dave

3/6/2003	Pelham Academy
Thanks to the girls at the Pelham Academy for welcoming me to speak with them last night. It was great meeting and sharing with you all. Good Luck and stay strong....Dave

2/20/2003

Town Crier Article

Thanks to Aimee Maillett for her article about This Sober Life in my hometowns weekly paper the Tewksbury Town Crier: Breslin Tells Story of Sober Life He had his first drink when he was 13. By the time he turned 16, his weekends relied heavily on the presence of alcohol. And at age 17, it became so bad that he began to drink during school hours and when not in school, could often be found at the Tewksbury police station. Dave Breslin, a 98’ graduate of Tewksbury Memorial High School, is a recovering alcoholic. He came to grips with his harsh reality at age 19 in January of 2000, when he realized that alcohol had overcome his life. “Just as I turned 19, I got to the point where I knew I had a problem,” says Breslin, “I was living my life around probation, court visits and lawyer’s meetings.” Now at age 23, Breslin has recently published a book, titled This Sober Life. The book is a progressive compilation of poems written during his tumultuous path back to sobriety. After leaving town to stay with his mother when he initially began his recovery, Breslin found he had a niche other than hardcore drinking. From day one of quitting, the young man found that he had a knack for writing. “It kind of just started happening. I went into recovery and found that the easiest way to help me deal was to write,” he says, “It came together, I got interested in it and I went with it.” The book spans over his two and a half year journey down the road to sobriety. The beginning of his book portrays the hardest of his conflicts, as he overcomes depression and the reality that life as he knew it, was quickly fading. “The first six months were really tough. I was fighting a lot of depression because my serotonin levels were so far down that they weren’t functioning at all. After the first six months, I finally felt good enough to start life over,” says Breslin. One of the first poems in This Sober Life, called “Letter To Happiness,” illustrates the despair and loneliness of the recovering alcoholic. The first line says “Dear Happiness, now and then I get this feeling of just wanting to quit, waiting here miserably, waiting for you to return from your trip. Because it’s every day I’m feeling like we’ll never meet again and that maybe I should realize our wounds are too deep to mend.” In the middle of the book and after being sober for one year, Breslin’s life hits a major speed bump on the road back to recovery when he loses four friends to the malevolence of alcohol. His best friend was killed in a drunk-driving accident; two friends committed suicide; and one friend was lost to an overdose. “While I was sober, it showed me that I made the right decision,” Breslin says about painfully watching four of his friends succumb to the dangers of partying. Despite the grief and agony, the 22-year-old has not had a drink in three years. The same young man who was arrested 8-10 times for minor possession of alcohol and received two driving under the influence charges, now spends his free time reading, writing and playing the drums. He doesn’t see much of his old friends anymore. He has distanced himself from the bar scene and lives quite the unconventional 22 year old man’s life. It took him two and a half years to alter his lifestyle to exclude alcohol, but he doesn’t seem to mind. Breslin can’t stop talking about his new book and his main focus, which is “getting the message out.” “This book is about getting the message across. This can happen to anyone. I would like to help others in this situation to see that it’s not all about partying. You have to get out there and find yourself,” he says. This Sober Life is a self-evaluating book of poems that aims to help those with similar troubles. Many teens are often drinking heavily by age 19 and Breslin wants them to know that alcoholism is not finicky. It is a disease that will affect anyone who challenges it. “Many kids think that their life is based on partying. They don’t think there is much else out there,” says Breslin, “Kids think that there’s really nothing else to do, but there is so much more. (Alcoholism) only ends two ways. You either make it out or you deal with it the way I’ve had to. The worst feeling is thinking that you have to kill yourself to deal with it.” In addition to educating through his writing, Breslin makes visits as a guest speaker to inform teens and adults on the dangers of alcohol. Last year, he spoke at Tewksbury Memorial High School for the ECHO program, which is a program that promotes alternatives to alcohol. Breslin has also spoken at the Pelham Girls Academy and is working closely with the Billerica House of Correction to schedule some appearances. The former party man is now a published writer, educating the public on the mistakes he made and will always be paying for. But does he ever yearn for his old lifestyle? “I get urges to have a drink. I really want to be able to be the normal kid and go out and have a good time. But I know if I pick up a drink, I will end up right where I was. I have three years behind me now and it would be stupid to throw it away,” says Breslin. The end of his book closes the first chapter of recovery and gives you a peak to the next stage. As the time has gained, the poems begin to trickle with hope and appreciation for the rocky path Breslin conquered. “The strength, will and acceptance is there and I feel that I did the right thing,” he says. This Sober Life is available on Breslin’s website, thissoberlife.com. Here you can read excerpts from the book, speak to the author through e-mail and order the book directly. The book is also available through Amazon.com and Borders.com.

2/10/2003	Review Copies
If you are interested in recieving a review copy of the book or to set up an interview, talk or reading please send your emails here:dave@davebreslin.com

2/10/2003	Lowell Sun Article
Thanks to Kathleen Deely for her article about This Sober Life in todays Lowell Sun. To read the article, click the Lowell Sun logo.

2/1/2003	How did you find ThisSoberLife.com?
Are you new here? Send me a note and let me know how you heard about the site or send me your suggestions on what you'd like to see: dave@davebreslin.com

1/21/2003	Book Released
This Sober Life has now been offically released. To view the press release, go here.

12/31/2002	Book available online!
The book has become available at the publishers internet bookstore, and will be available on amazon.com, b&n.com and borders.com within the next few weeks. Go to the Buy the Book section for more info. ----Dave

12/22/2002	Proof Has Arrived
I recieved the proof in the mail yesterday and it looks great, so it shouldn't be much longer now, keep checking back for the final release date.....thanks...Dave