Clean and Sober, Now He Helps Others

Dana Brennan missed Christmas in 2009.

He was gone from his parents' house all week getting high with his druggie friends. He showed up a week later, pretty much a mess, he said.

He'd ruined Christmas for his parents. They'd been trying to get a hold of him all week.

It was the first time Brennan, 33, said he actually saw what his addiction had done to his parents. There were wrinkles and gray hair, much of it probably his fault, he said.

Adopted and an only child, Brennan had spent years blaming other people for his problems. He says he "was raised right," that his parents were good, religious people.

"I decided to blaze my own trail," Brennan says with a wry smile.

It started in middle school with fights and vandalism. By high school at he was drinking and using drugs regularly.

"People knew me as a party person," Brennan said.

In college at North Georgia College and State University, he "got arrested one too many times." And he knew his dream of becoming a law enforcement officer was squashed.

Brennan said he moved off campus and began selling drugs to get by. He faded out of school and into a lifestyle he's not proud of.

Ectasy, cocaine, meth. You name it, Brennan said he tried it. After seven years or so, he decided to come back home, trying to escape his demons in Dahlonega.

Didn't work. Within weeks he was right back in the scene. Heroin entered the picture and he became known around Douglasville as someone who could get drugs.

Sick and tired of himself in 2008, Brennan said he would occasionally go to church, but he wasn't ready to give up his habits just yet. Not until that Christmas in 2009 did he finally get the courage to turn his life over to God.

"I was finally defeated," he said. "I knew if I did it the Dana Brennan way I was going to screw it up."

He started going to small groups where he was able to talk about some of his issues. He met a minister who had a similar story to tell and that gave him hope.

Today, Brennan has been sober for two years. He has a good job, has bought a car and a house. And his giving back to the community that helped him.

He volunteers at The Pantry, a food distribution center for folks in need. He prays with people while they are there and sees many cases just like his.

"Jesus is a strong answer for people," he said.

Brennan has been given a leadership role at his home church, and also helps lead a recovery group in Douglasville.

"Once I share my story," he said, "we connect."