Matt Abrams on OxyContin Junkie to Yale Graduate

The Other F Word: Conversations About Failure

A Writer with a Doctorate in Art History, Matt Abrams shares his epic story of early drug use, which led to dropping out of high school, running away from home, drug smuggling and dealing. After many of his junkie friends landed themselves in jail or dead, Matt found the strength in the recovery community to get sober by the age of 19. Determined to change his way of being, he found education to be a wonderful avenue to new meaning and opportunity. Getting his PhD at Yale served to be a place of growth and awakening in many ways, as he came to understand his dual identity as an Ivy League student and OxyContin addict. Matt’s ability to empathize with the “junkie world” on the outskirts of Yale was profound, as he grappled with the fact that while OxyContin almost killed him, its makers were largely responsible for funding the University that brought him so much life.

Find out more about Matt @: www.matthewjeffreyabrams.com

Follow Matt @: www.instagram.com/matthewjabrams

Read Matt's article @: www.theguardian.com