Building from zero after addiction, prison, and a felony

vijucat

I love such stories. Right now, a lot of folks I know are struggling to find jobs, so I read the part about how he got a job the first day he was out of jail with some astonishment and nostalgia for the simpler days, when showing interest was often enough to land the job! Now, hoop number 1, the AI resume filter, is a strange obstacle that one has to jump through first.

an_d_rew

Thank you for sharing. Stories like yours remind us that there is good in the world, and even if it isn’t everywhere, it is still worth cultivating. I’m a software engineer née scientist, but my spouse is a therapist who specializes in addiction. They (and I!) cherish stories like yours because we had seen up-close the struggle that so many people face.

isamuel

I’m curious (as a recovered alcoholic myself) how you got sober.

gedy

Good on him and shout out for Hasura as well, probably the most pleasant dev experience I had in past 10 years. It was so good, the startup I was at dropped it because CTO got scared that there was no work for the backend devs, ha.

Nuzzerino

That’s cool. Unfortunately, today, sobriety doesn’t guarantee that AI companies won’t kill off what’s left of your career (which somewhat weakens the incentives to do so). But congrats!

tickerticker

Your compassionate and honest story will, I hope, bear much fruit. You write well..very readable and engaging.

arthurofbabylon

“ No part of the prose was machine-generated. You will not find machine-written prose on this blog. I consider it deeply disrespectful.” <3

lanewinfield

Thank you for sharing your story! I wish you continued success and I also hope that one day someone will share with you about how YOUR story helped them do something similar, just like the article did for you. Also, Preston Thorpe (who Gavin mentions as inspiration) has an interesting story as well: https://pthorpe92.dev/intro/my-story/

himata4113

I feel happiness reading stories like this. You proved to the world that you can become something great even when all the cards are stacked against you. I often feel despair when I think about where our society is heading, but there will always be people like you who are there to push back against all the wrongs in the world and make the best out of it.

TZubiri

"AI Use Disclaimer: claude code was used to generate the OpenGraph SVG image. No part of the prose was machine-generated. You will not find machine-written prose on this blog. I consider it deeply disrespectful." I really like this disclaimer, by disclaiming that a single small thing was done with AI, you make very credible and notable that you did not use LLMs for the important parts.

ChrisMarshallNY

Thanks for sharing, Gavin. Can relate. Been 45 years, for me. Got my act together at 18, but before that...

ProllyInfamous

Please don't get a motorcycle: A good felon buddy of mine has been out now for 4 years. He slowly built a car repair business, with steady clientele, and got his life back on track – including reasonable sobriety and a steady relationship. He and his girl would cruise around often, enjoying their newfound happiness . Last week he totaled his Harley and his body (destroyed bike, multiple broken bones). Total reset. He now gets PTSD whenever a Harley revvs by passing... physically cannot work. Please don't get a motorcycle.

madrox

Shoutout to the author. I don't think I've met you, but I'm proud of you. What you've done is not easy. Neither is talking about it. I've not had nearly the adversity of the author, but I do know a little bit about what it's like to have an alternative background that makes companies not want to take a chance on you. It motivates you to take advantage of the chances you're given. The first time someone gave me a job, I felt so utterly grateful that I worked twice as hard as most and complained half as much. You could cynically call that exploitation, but I didn't see it that way. When I came into a position to make my own hiring calls, I tried paying that forward, and I got some great employees from it. Arguably a couple duds as well, but I never regretted giving the chance. Shout out to Hasura as well, btw. I've encountered their leadership team a couple times and everything about them has screamed integrity. It did not surprise me to hear that they are part of this story.

stringfood

Congratulations on your sobriety!!

muragekibicho

Extreme mental clarity in "Eventually, she told me that it made more sense for me to quit my job while she worked, so that I could spend all of my free time trying to get another tech job". I could've never imagined long-term-thinking like this from a former addict.

qmr

Powerful. Thank you for sharing. Had to look away to stop from tearing up in Panera a few times at the end. Sending this to my sister who has had struggles like this. She recently finished her BS and hopes to be an counselor or therapist after finishing her masters.

judah

This was really encouraging to read. Appreciate the honesty and vulnerability. Keeo going, keep sober, and I hope your future stays bright.

sam1r

>>> I cut the article out and put it in a documents folder. Had to read this a couple of times, to let it sink in that he is cutting with scissors and placing this paper document in a manilla folder.

jviotti

You are very brave in sharing all of this and you, as anybody else in your position, absolutely deserve a promising second chance. Keep rocking! Open source has changed the life of so many, from so many situations. We should be proud of our industry. Together we built something beautiful

msteffen

> The beginning of the end: The day I bought an Adderall from a classmate. When that amphetamine feeling kicked-in, it was as if life was perfect for the first time. I was happy, confident, felt I could do anything. You know, I had a similar experience, but in my case I got an appointment with a psychiatrist afterwards, described the experience in detail, was given a computer test, diagnosed with ADHD, and then given a prescription. (Also in my case, I learned Adderall doesn’t actually feel great or help you if you take too much). Take care of your kids. The war on drugs is stupid. Etc.