Andy Warhol once said everyone gets 15 minutes of fame. I guess this makes my second round. The first was back in 1988 when CJOH News interviewed me as the go-to guy on a hot stock—Campeau Corporation. My character Woody even makes half a million trading it in the book.
If you want to listen to it, here's the link:
The Mission—a homeless shelter on Daly Avenue in Ottawa—truly saved my life.
At the height of my addiction, I ended up in the Montfort Hospital. When I was discharged, I told the doctor that if I went back to where I was staying, I’d likely be dead within a month. They listened—and sent me to the Salvation Army shelter. That’s where my journey into homelessness began.
I eventually found my way to the Mission and enrolled in their "harm reduction" Hope program.
The thing about harm reduction is—they meet you where you’re at. You can have something in your system, just not be completely out of it. That was exactly what I needed. I couldn’t flip a switch and be sober—I had to claw my way back, inch by inch.
Even while still in the program, I landed a job. Started piecing my life together.
I got a roof over my head. Hired editors. And somehow, against all odds, I published my book.
The rest is history as they say.
Ken
