Today’s post goes into more detail concerning the narrative that appeared here recently of one person’s life, which has turned out to be very exemplary. The path began with a happy and unremarkable childhood, then veered to become very crooked and shadowy, and then straightened out and emerged into light. This light expanded from shining on just one person, into an encompassing brightness whose glow has affected many others.

When Jason Williams was a young teen, the situation was, in his own words, “The only thing I cared about was how to get loaded.” And that meant, on anything. If someone put it in his hand, he would take a hit off it or swallow it or stick up his nose or maybe anywhere else it would fit. From ages 14 through 19, he was a self-described mess.

Enrolled in a Las Vegas high school but attending in only the most alleged and minimal sense, he got Fs for grades, punched holes in walls, and generally set an awful example for his younger brother… and was arrested several times. He was shipped back to an uncle in the old home town, and soon the rest of the family also returned too. Problem solved, right? Wrong! Williams says,

When I got back to Idaho I was expelled from my first two high schools and just ended up hanging out behind the drug high school selling drugs.

The chaos went on for years. Somehow his friends managed to drink and drug and do all sorts of reprehensible things, but still remain in school and even hold onto jobs. But Jason, the boy without an off-switch, was just an all-around screw-up.

As he came to realize later, it was a miracle that his parents’ marriage was not wrecked by his intractable delinquency. The dark journey encompassed several rehabilitation facilities, some of which he was discharged from in an orderly fashion, and a couple of which he escaped from. He would disappear for weeks, and later estimated that he “went to jail probably 30 times before 18.”

That landmark birthday was celebrated in jail, then he was sent to a juvenile facility and eventually released from there, supposedly ready for a fresh start… which did not happen. Finally, incarcerated again, he dimly grasped that he was indeed an addict who didn’t know how to not be one. At the same time, he began to form some vague aspirations, like maybe… going to college… some day…

The young man did inevitably realize that in future, the consequences of both addiction and criminality would be a whole different level of serious. Juvenile records might be sealed by law, but adult records were public property. On one level, he realized that it might be sensible to make a fresh start. Somehow that notion morphed into a plan made with a friend, to rip off every dealer they knew, and run away to Arizona with a huge supply of drugs to keep them loaded for a while.

This aspiration resulted in another arrest and some felony charges and a 19th birthday spent in the penitentiary, where he passed the GED high school equivalency test. At this juncture, the best-case outcome scenario would be 10 years on parole. Somehow, Jason got free again, and into a 12-Step program. His dad gave him a job, and he had a car with privileges limited to driving to and from work. He managed to stay sober for almost a year. And then… he went to a party and had a beer.

Three hours later, he was back in handcuffs, arrested for driving under the influence, and somehow realized that he had run out of leeway. This wake-up call would be the last one he could expect. “I always knew I was a crackhead,” he explained. He had somehow finally accepted that he could no longer mess around with meth. But this event brought him face-to-face with the inevitable conclusion that he would never be able to drink like a normal person — which meant, he could not drink at all. Not ever, ever again.

After being bailed out, he called his parole officer, who at this point could by rights have had him put away for 15 years. But — because Jason had called him, rather than letting him find out about the DUI arrest through official channels — the parole officer let it go.

That was when Jason Williams really committed to the 12 Steps, acquired a sponsor, and delved into the principles of service and amends in a big way. Along with community service, he filled the void with a family, started Sober Gangster, and after being an abysmal junkie during most of his youth, has now been sober for going on 30 years, and has guided many others into their new lives too. These days, when interviewed, Williams might start by showing off his stack of sobriety tokens. He might also reveal that he occasionally reminds his wife,

Honey, if I ever decide to have a glass of wine with dinner, pack your bags, close our checking account, and get the hell out of the house, because I will burn it to the ground eventually.

For people who want to get seriously involved, Sober Gangster maintains a private Facebook group.

Written by Pat Hartman. First published April 25, 2025.

Sources:

“Episode 1: The Sober Gangster,” YouTube, undated.

“Episode 33: Jason Williams aka Sober Gangster,” YouTube, 2023.

“EP 15 — Sober Gangster: Jason Williams’ Triumph Over Addiction,” The Begin Again Podcast, undated.

Image: Internet meme, used under Fair Use.