From Dan S.
Dear Mr. Kiedis,
I hope this letter finds you well. My name is Dan, and I’m writing to express my deepest gratitude for your book *Scar Tissue*. Your story has had a profound impact on my life, and I felt compelled to share with you how much it has meant to me.
Like you, I’ve struggled with addiction from a young age. I started experimenting with drugs around 13 or 14, beginning with weed and alcohol. By the time I was 15, I had moved on to pills, mostly opiates with some amphetamines sprinkled in. At 16, I was using OxyContin full-time, but when those became hard to get after they were banned, I turned to heroin. Before I turned 17, I was injecting it intravenously. I still remember teaching myself how to inject using a YouTube video…
By 17, I was a full-fledged junkie, and my addiction was leading me down increasingly dangerous paths. I would leave school early and head into Kensington in Philly by myself to score. This went on for years until I moved to Florida in an attempt to sober us. I was 25 by this point, and I had yet another near-death experience in Florida after doing a speedball. By the grace of God, I was saved by a cop who administered 4 or 5 doses of Narcan. (This is right when fentanyl was making its way around the country)
After that incident, it left me with neuropathy, and I lost the use of my right leg, which I still can’t feel to this day.
Despite this, I managed to maintain sobriety for around three years before slipping up again with IV cocaine use. In that time, I drained all my savings, which had amounted to over $150,000 from a lawsuit I won after a head-on collision. After losing everything, I moved back to Pennsylvania to be near my family. I was hospitalized shortly after when I couldn’t catch my breath. The doctors told me that all the IV drug use had destroyed my tricuspid heart valve, and after maintaining sobriety for six months, I underwent open-heart surgery.
These past few years have been incredibly challenging, but I feel like I’ve finally gained some momentum in my recovery. Your story in *Scar Tissue* has been a source of inspiration for me during this journey. Seeing how you overcame your struggles and achieved sobriety has given me hope that I can do the same. I wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing your story with the world—it’s helped me more than words can express.
I know you must receive a lot of letters like this. Regardless, I want you to know that your honesty and courage have made a difference in my life.
Thank you again for everything.
Sincerely,
Dan
