I longed to be a part of America’s elite–to stand in The Long Gray Line as an officer in the United States Army. My quest for academic, athletic, and leadership excellence began as a cadet at the prestigious United States Military Academy at West Point. But before the end of my sophomore year, I buckled under pressure, and in search of an escape, turned to alcohol and recreational drug use. My excesses eventually opened full-throttle to debilitating and self-destructive abuse. Despite my inability to function without hourly doses of narcotics with alcohol chasers, I still managed to graduate from West Point and earn a commission as an officer in the United States Army.

An Officer and a Junkie is my documented cautionary tale of my battle with substance abuse and dependency. With an episodic and straightforward narrative, I pull no punches in my confessions of what I did (and did not do) both inside and outside military walls. I reveal my innermost delusions and most shameful acts, and when the years of self-neglect finally started taking their toll, the consequences were terrible. I took so many mind-altering substance that I initially came to believe I was the reincarnation of the Mexican impressionist painter Frida Kahlo and ultimately Jesus Christ.

When I finally do give up drugs and embrace sobriety, I receive what my doctors assure me is a lifelong sentence of antipsychotic and mood-stabilizing medication. But I think you’ll find that my intellect is still reasonably intact, as is my brutal honesty and my riveting and unforgettable account of my descent into madness.