Catherine and I had an amazing interview this morning for our podcast, The Weekend Sober. We spoke with Martin Lockett. If you haven't checked out our podcast yet, please head over to @applepodcasts or @spotifypodcasts and do so! And please visit Martin's website: https://www.martinlockett.com
Martin was a very engaging speaker and I felt lucky to be able to interview him. Early on in his youth, he first tried drinking at the age of 14. Even though he grew up in Portland, Oregon around guns, drugs and violence, in a place that was drastically different than the environment I grew up in, our experiences with alcohol were quite identical. Our feelings of just wanting to fit in, be a part of the group, be accepted - they were all the same. We were both shy kids. Awkward, insecure teens. We both didn't know how to feel confident in ourselves without the magical elixir of alcohol.
As teenagers, we didn't know who to be. We didn't know what we wanted to do with our lives. We were lost. Scared. Both of us lied to our parents. We were scared to disappointe people. Intimidated by what our futures held. All of this was so similar, yet we lived on opposite coasts, a world apart.
Unfortunately, when he was 24 years old, Martin was intoxicated and got behind the wheel of his car on New Years Eve. Sadly, it was a night that changed the course of his life forever. Martin has taken all that he has learned from his experience and used it for good. He has committed his life to helping others who suffer from alcohol addiction and he has made it his mission to spread awareness and education.
Talking to Martin today, I was reminded once again, that I am grateful for my sobriety. I am grateful for getting the chance to meet him today and hear him speak in vivid detail about that fateful night. I am grateful to be on this road alongside Martin, listening to him share his story. I can only hope my personal story of sobriety can help others as much as he impacted me today.
Here is an excerpt from my memoir. A scene from when I first got drunk at the age of 14. We are all so very similar...
"When I brought the shot glass to my mouth, the painful sensation of the Jack Daniel’s stung my lips and burned my throat. It filled my stomach with warmth and my head was overtaken by a woozy sensation. My limbs felt like butter melting into the darkness of the pool deck. My friends laughed around me, morphing into an eruption of cheers and a thumping that startled me. 'You want another?' they asked me.'
Hell yeah!' I shouted. I wanted to chase the warmth. The tingly happiness inside my brain. That buzz. I didn’t want to let this euphoria slip away. I felt open. De- tached. There was an untethered comfort, and I wanted to stay in this space forever. I took another shot of Jack and let it smolder in my gut. I felt brave, for once. Excited. I reeled with delight. This was going to be my night. I poured another, slamming the glass bottle back down onto the teak deck with conviction, spilling some of it on my jeans and shirt."
