AKRON, Ohio — It's 84 degrees, and 27-year-old Brody Williams is running in pants. But he's not here to make a fashion statement, he feels lucky to be alive.
"So it started for me when I was probably about 12 years old. My dad was never really in my life a whole lot," Brody said. "We started doing drugs together, which, you know, was kind of nice. Because at some point I was like, 'Hey, I'm finally getting my father's attention and affection.'"
Deep down, Brody knew it wasn't the right path. He started drinking at 12, and it only escalated from there.
"By the time I was in high school it was crack cocaine and, heroin and, you know, more serious drugs," Brody said.
After years of rehab, relapses and prison stints, he had a breakthrough.
"I just kind of got tired of it all. It's easy to say, 'Hey, I love you,' but when my actions don't reflect that, I get tired of living my life feeling like a burden, because all I do is take from everybody," Brody said of when he got sober.
He's been clean for more than 10 months. He credits the Summit County Turning Point Program for helping to save him.
"Turning point with Judge Oldfield here in Akron. Absolutely love her to death," Brody said.
"I mean, she could have sent me away a couple different times and she saw something in me, you know, that at the time I didn't see in myself."
He's also fallen in love with running, thanks, in part, to Running2bwell, a group that exercises with people dealing with addiction.
"My first week there, I think I'd been, you know, maybe two or three weeks sober at the time. I was not running very far," Brody said. "I was in inpatient for about a month, and in that month, I went from not being able to run a mile to, I think I ran about 10 miles."
He's been hitting the pavement ever since, completing a half marathon at Grafton Correctional Institution this year. And, he's about to do it again this weekend in Akron.
"Half marathon Saturday, and then the full marathon in a couple weeks," Brody said.
Today, Brody is in a sober living house and has support in his wonderful fiancée and mom. He's also working on his degree at Stark State College, and plans to get his masters in human and social services. His goal is to become a drug and alcohol counselor.
Though it hasn't been an easy road...
"It's well worth it in the end," Brody said. "To be able to be an active participant in the relationships in my life today, to be able to give to the people that I love and care about instead of just take, those are invaluable. I mean, those are things that I can wake up in the morning and say, 'You know what? I like who I am today."
Have a story idea for Heartstrings? Email to: Heartstrings@wkyc.com.