Ben Owen

My parents found out, I guess Aaron had told them, or maybe they found a beer bottle or something, I don't know, and just raised holy hell over the fact that I was drinking again. And I broke it down like, I don't see what the problem is. Look at all of what I'm doing despite the fact that I'm drinking. Like, what's the big deal? Obviously, my parents know what the big deal is.

I'm a raging alcoholic. It doesn't matter what I'm able to maintain. I'm only going to maintain that until I can't. And the day when I can't is going to come. It always does. Aaron ends up getting pregnant again. We're still in college. Jacob's on the way. And we had a huge blow up about my drinking. And so my petty response to that was like, fine, I'll quit for two years this time.

I'm a raging alcoholic. It doesn't matter what I'm able to maintain. I'm only going to maintain that until I can't. And the day when I can't is going to come. It always does. Aaron ends up getting pregnant again. We're still in college. Jacob's on the way. And we had a huge blow up about my drinking. And so my petty response to that was like, fine, I'll quit for two years this time.

I'm a raging alcoholic. It doesn't matter what I'm able to maintain. I'm only going to maintain that until I can't. And the day when I can't is going to come. It always does. Aaron ends up getting pregnant again. We're still in college. Jacob's on the way. And we had a huge blow up about my drinking. And so my petty response to that was like, fine, I'll quit for two years this time.

And that's what I did. And so I put it back down. And Jacob was born. And life was great. I was going to college. I was doing really good. And then I get sick again. Like the pancreatitis had came back when I quit drinking or something. We couldn't figure it out. The doctors couldn't figure it out. I lose a shitload of weight. I...

And that's what I did. And so I put it back down. And Jacob was born. And life was great. I was going to college. I was doing really good. And then I get sick again. Like the pancreatitis had came back when I quit drinking or something. We couldn't figure it out. The doctors couldn't figure it out. I lose a shitload of weight. I...

And that's what I did. And so I put it back down. And Jacob was born. And life was great. I was going to college. I was doing really good. And then I get sick again. Like the pancreatitis had came back when I quit drinking or something. We couldn't figure it out. The doctors couldn't figure it out. I lose a shitload of weight. I...

I end up going over to my parents' house in Georgia, and they take me to some specialist over there who figures out I have literally pickled my gallbladder. I drank an organ out of my body. So they removed the gallbladder in 2005 and then realized I'd done a lot of other damage to my GI tract with the drinking all the times I've been throwing up blood.

I end up going over to my parents' house in Georgia, and they take me to some specialist over there who figures out I have literally pickled my gallbladder. I drank an organ out of my body. So they removed the gallbladder in 2005 and then realized I'd done a lot of other damage to my GI tract with the drinking all the times I've been throwing up blood.

I end up going over to my parents' house in Georgia, and they take me to some specialist over there who figures out I have literally pickled my gallbladder. I drank an organ out of my body. So they removed the gallbladder in 2005 and then realized I'd done a lot of other damage to my GI tract with the drinking all the times I've been throwing up blood.

And so they do another operation called a Nissen procedure called which is supposed to be for reflux, but they were trying to undo damage I'd done. I was supposedly the youngest person in the state of Alabama to ever have that surgery done. But I'd stopped drinking. I'd had two abdominal surgeries, which are extremely painful.

And so they do another operation called a Nissen procedure called which is supposed to be for reflux, but they were trying to undo damage I'd done. I was supposedly the youngest person in the state of Alabama to ever have that surgery done. But I'd stopped drinking. I'd had two abdominal surgeries, which are extremely painful.

And so they do another operation called a Nissen procedure called which is supposed to be for reflux, but they were trying to undo damage I'd done. I was supposedly the youngest person in the state of Alabama to ever have that surgery done. But I'd stopped drinking. I'd had two abdominal surgeries, which are extremely painful.

And so they had me on a lot of pain pills, which I don't know that I was addicted to them, but I sure loved them. And I was taking, like, as prescribed. You know, I wasn't taking extra. But I definitely developed a taste for opiates during this time period. I ended up graduating college and get hired on Pfizer as a sales rep. They moved us to Memphis. That's how I ended up in Memphis.

And so they had me on a lot of pain pills, which I don't know that I was addicted to them, but I sure loved them. And I was taking, like, as prescribed. You know, I wasn't taking extra. But I definitely developed a taste for opiates during this time period. I ended up graduating college and get hired on Pfizer as a sales rep. They moved us to Memphis. That's how I ended up in Memphis.

And so they had me on a lot of pain pills, which I don't know that I was addicted to them, but I sure loved them. And I was taking, like, as prescribed. You know, I wasn't taking extra. But I definitely developed a taste for opiates during this time period. I ended up graduating college and get hired on Pfizer as a sales rep. They moved us to Memphis. That's how I ended up in Memphis.

The drinking culture at Pfizer or really anywhere in corporate America, it's not a great place for an incognito alcoholic to be. And I was not doing meetings. I just stopped drinking, right? So, you know, it was just a matter of time. And it started pretty fast.

The drinking culture at Pfizer or really anywhere in corporate America, it's not a great place for an incognito alcoholic to be. And I was not doing meetings. I just stopped drinking, right? So, you know, it was just a matter of time. And it started pretty fast.

The drinking culture at Pfizer or really anywhere in corporate America, it's not a great place for an incognito alcoholic to be. And I was not doing meetings. I just stopped drinking, right? So, you know, it was just a matter of time. And it started pretty fast.

right back to drinking every day, right back to drinking at 6 o'clock in the morning, to the point that they figured it out at Pfizer training and put me out on short-term disability for being an alcoholic. I'm like, that seems retarded. The way this works at Pfizer at the time, if you're on short-term disability, you still get paid and you're not allowed to work at all.