Recovered. Rob Gallaty
From the off I have to tell you that I may have looked at this book from a different angle to which the writer would like. I am not religious, in fact I’m the very definition of an Agnostic.
I was intrigued by the fly cover information for the book. So I thought I’d give it a go, and I’m really glad I did
Rob Gallaty is today a successful pastor. His path to getting there is amazing
Rob narrates the book from his point of view, but I suspect he has had to ask for help in remembering some of the times he talks about, because for a lot of his teens and twenties he was lost in a chemically induced fog.
Raised in a happy Catholic family, in New Orleans, he was diagnosed with ADHD and ADD but his parents shied away from the route of putting him on medication. From the start he admits his own flaws. He was the class clown that had to be the centre of attention and often found himself in trouble with his teachers.
Typically of somebody who suffered ADHD he threw himself headlong into anything he was good at or enjoyed, but quickly got fed up and bored with it.
As a teenager he played Basketball for his school, , standing at 6 foot 6, he was an imposing presence on the court, and enjoyed the adulation.
But when he went to college he was just another tall guy and his identity was lost, he was not the centre of attention he craved. He also started to find the drug scene.
His final dive into the murky waters of drug taking were not actually his fault. Injured in a vehicle accident, that was not his fault, he became hooked on pain killers, but not just taking them, he found that by selling them he could make money.
Rob was good at everything he turned his attention too but always managed to press the self destruct button because along with his ADHD and ADD he has a highly addictive personality, and although in the early stages of drug use he considered himself a functioning addict, he soon spiralled down to his lowest point.
In fact after interventions and rehab he relapsed, and like a bouncing ball had highs and lows each good experience short lived as the bounce lessened.
But eventually he found his way out of the fog. Not as a Catholic but as a Baptist Pastor
His upward spiral is nearly as spectacular as the downward one
He has ups and downs but always with a focus. But unlike his other focuses in the past, this one never got boring, he never lost his interest. He relates to the bible, he relates to God, and as he looks back at his history he is convinced that somebody has been looking over his shoulder and protecting him. After all many of his friends are dead form over doses, and many are in prison for dealing, but Rob is recovering and he has a clean police record.
Why did I say at the start that I looked at this boom from a different angle. I admire Rob for what he has achieved. For me the story is more about survival and growing up. His determination to make something of himself shines through throughout the book. If it wasn’t for that vehicle accident would he have gone down the drugs route, possibly.
If he hadn’t gone down the drugs route would his addictive personality led him to something else, alcoholism, gambling, possibly.
Would finding a focus have helped him avoid these things. I think not, because with most interests of this type there would have been a stress related to it, which may have led him down one of these paths.
What I think he found in the life he leads is a tranquility that no drug could give him.
A friend of mine often tells me that “ we get you all in the end” referring to his religion. He is one on the nicest people I know. He is also one of the calmest and exudes tranquility even at the most fraught of moments.
I’m glad “somebody” Got Rob Gallaty, and I’m glad he’s shared his experience. This is a tremendous account of survival.
nigeladamsbookworm 