Joshua Woosley was born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky, in a home where addiction was already part of everyday life.

His father struggled with severe alcoholism. His mother battled addiction.

Then, when Josh was only 9 years old, his father was murdered.

Years later, at 18, another devastating loss followed when his best friend was murdered.

By then, substance use had already become part of Josh’s life.

Through his 20s and 30s, Josh became heavily involved in drug activity. Arrests followed. Jail followed. Multiple felony charges followed.

He went to treatment several times, but for years the cycle continued.

Eventually, one opportunity began changing the direction of his life.

Josh landed an internship in the recovery field.

What started as an internship became a career—and a completely different identity.

He worked his way up to assistant director at one of the largest recovery centers in America, taking the same experiences that once kept him trapped in addiction, crime, and incarceration and using them to help other people find a way out.

Today, Josh has worked in the recovery field for more than five years and is approaching six years clean.

But some of the biggest victories aren’t found in a job title.

Josh rebuilt his relationship with his daughter.

He rebuilt relationships with his family.

He became someone his daughter could depend on.

And instead of being consumed by the lifestyle that dominated much of his 20s and 30s, he now spends his life helping other people rebuild theirs.

On this episode of GITT Up with Adam Larkin, Josh opens up about growing up around alcoholism and addiction, losing his father to murder at nine years old, losing his best friend, substance use, drug activity, jail, felony charges, treatment, recovery, fatherhood, leadership, and what it actually took to build a life worth protecting.

This isn’t a story about pretending the past didn’t happen.

It’s about what happens when you finally decide the past doesn’t get to control what happens next.

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Real people. Real consequences. Real redemption.

GITT Up brings you unfiltered conversations about addiction, recovery, trauma, incarceration, mental health, entrepreneurship, fatherhood, second chances, and the moments that completely change a person’s life.

If this episode speaks to you, follow the podcast, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs to hear Josh’s story.

Every share helps these conversations reach another person who may be struggling, another family looking for hope, or someone who needs proof that their life can still change.

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