He Went From Princeton & Harvard Law To Shooting Heroin On Skid Row

Damon Watson did everything right. Harvard-Westlake prep school. Princeton, where he was a national debate champion. Harvard Law School. A career as an intellectual property litigator at Latham & Watkins, one of the biggest law firms in Los Angeles. On paper, his life was the American dream. Then five people close to him died in six years — his mom, his dad, his grandmother and more. His marriage fell apart. And the man who had been so terrified of becoming his alcoholic mother that he was the designated driver all through college took his first drink at 30, right after graduating law school. From there it moved fast: ecstasy at the clubs, then cocaine, then crystal meth, and finally a needle in his arm. Damon lost everything. He ended up homeless on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles, shooting heroin and meth, fighting for his life, cycling through LA County Jail on check-fraud charges he committed just to survive. He describes sitting there with a needle in his arm, certain he was going to die in that spot — and something in him refusing to accept it. His way out came through a former debate rival turned friend running for city council, who flew him to New York, put him on her couch, bought him a suit, and helped him get clean. He never picked up again. Now 8.5 years sober, Damon works for the New Jersey Reentry Corporation helping formerly incarcerated people and those in recovery rebuild their lives — pulling together his Ivy League book smarts and his hard-won street smarts to give other people the second chance he got. This one is proof that addiction truly does not discriminate — and that no one is too far gone to come back. 🔔 Subscribe for new episodes every week📲 Follow Damon: @damonesquire (Instagram) | Damon Watson (LinkedIn)🌐 New Jersey Reentry Corporation Damon Watson did everything right. Harvard-Westlake prep school. Princeton, where he was a national debate champion. Harvard Law School. A career as an intellectual property litigator at Latham & Watkins, one of the biggest law firms in Los Angeles. On paper, his life was the American dream.Then five people close to him died in six years — his mom, his dad, his grandmother and more. His marriage fell apart. And the man who had been so terrified of becoming his alcoholic mother that he was the designated driver all through college took his first drink at 30, right after graduating law school. From there it moved fast: ecstasy at the clubs, then cocaine, then crystal meth, and finally a needle in his arm.Damon lost everything. He ended up homeless on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles, shooting heroin and meth, fighting for his life, cycling through LA County Jail on check-fraud charges he committed just to survive. He describes sitting there with a needle in his arm, certain he was going to die in that spot — and something in him refusing to accept it.His way out came through a former debate rival turned friend running for city council, who flew him to New York, put him on her couch, bought him a suit, and helped him get clean. He never picked up again.Now 8.5 years sober, Damon works for the New Jersey Reentry Corporation helping formerly incarcerated people and those in recovery rebuild their lives — pulling together his Ivy League book smarts and his hard-won street smarts to give other people the second chance he got.This one is proof that addiction truly does not discriminate — and that no one is too far gone to come back.🔔 Subscribe for new episodes every week📲 Follow Damon: @damonesquire (Instagram) | Damon Watson (LinkedIn)🌐 New Jersey Reentry Corporation If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health, you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to my partners at Compassion Behavioral Health. They offer individualized care and a full continuum of treatment. Call or Text: 844-443-5669 Visit: https: https://compassionbehavioralhealth.com/rise-above/ #RiseAbove #AddictionRecovery #HeroinRecovery #8YearsSober #RecoveryIsPossible #MethRecovery #SoberLife#SkidRow #HarvardLaw #AddictionDoesntDiscriminate #MensRecovery #SobrietyJourney #MentalHealth #Reentry#RiseAbovePodcast #KevinLanning #DamonWatson #SecondChances #FromRockBottom #OneMoreThing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices