On July 5, 1982, our guest today got drunk, fatally killed a man and did not remember doing it. He had suffered from what is called an alcoholic blackout. Today he is a recovering alcoholic with more than 23 years of sobriety.  He believes that prison and Alcoholics Anonymous saved his life. In 1997, he began working for Behavioral Health of the Palm Beaches, Inc. (FL), where he continues to share his story of horror and delusion under the influence of addiction, and to celebrate the joy of his new life today. Our story today is about an addiction and how you can recover and begin to live life again. Our guest is author Richard Broom who speaks to us about his memoir Cocked and Loaded. The book will take readers on the ultimate road to redemption; finding recovery and healing inside prison; making peace with the repercussions of his disease and actions; and finding a place and purpose in life after murder. He explains to us how anyone can plot their own path back from the brink of self-destruction. I also want to note that He counsels law enforcement officials who are coping with their own addiction.

About the Author

Richard Broom grew up in Albany, New York. He is a recovering alcoholic with more than twenty-three years of sobriety. In 1982, he was arrested for murder. He believes that prison and Alcoholics Anonymous saved his life. In 1997, he began working for Behavioral Health of the Palm Beaches, Inc. (FL), where he continues to share his story of horror and delusion under the influence of addiction, and to celebrate the joy of his new life today.

Filled with fascinating details, brutal honesty, and a refreshing bluntness, Richard Broom shines a sharply focused light on the life and mind-set of an addict, and shows, through his own bump-filled journey, how anyone can plot their own path back from the brink of self-destruction.

Key Features

·         The dramatic and unbelievably true story of an addict so far from grace that he commits the ultimate crime–murder while intoxicated

·         While there are many popular memoirs on addiction, including Dry, Wishful Drinking, and A Million Little Pieces, none are as dramatic as the story of Richard Broom, a man so out of control that he went to prison for a murder he committed after a night of binge drinking

·         Captivates readers with the author’s insights on recovering and redeeming oneself inside the walls of the prison system and how he found the gumption to live again as a functioning and contributing member of society on the outside, while forever being defined by his past crimes

·         Offers hope and inspiration to those whose lives have similarly deteriorated, by sharing through the most extreme example how life can break into “a million little pieces” and still be put back together again

·         Describes the ironic twist–and the lessons learned as a result of it–of Broom’s new life as a counselor to law enforcement agencies who are afflicted with alcohol and drug addiction