Rusty Lanier brings his experience in battling addiction to life in heartfelt book
For Russell “Rusty” Lanier, reliving the pain of his addiction in the process of writing his autobiography would be worth it if he could help others struggling with the disease.
Waiting to Die, Longing to Love, which was published in 2015, tells the story of Lanier’s 13-year battle with a crack cocaine and alcohol addiction; more importantly, his book tells the story of how he struggled—and later succeeded—to overcome his addiction.
“I knew that even though I was going through this painful process and living my addiction again, I knew that this pain would be worth it because it would touch the reader,” explained Lanier. “All the tears that flowed onto my keyboard, it would be worth it to help someone else.”
Lanier’s story began when he was a Chattanooga news editor, where his passion for investigative journalism motivated him to cover an unapproved story on the city’s drug epidemic. However, it led him to delve into the world of crack cocaine, which sent him on a downward spiral for over a decade until the night in 2009 he almost decided to end his life. Instead, he made a promise with God; if God saved him, he would write a book about how he was able to finally embrace the sobriety he so longed to have.
“This was a life-changing experience for me, writing this book. This is probably the biggest key for me in not relapsing,” Lanier said. “I purged my soul in this book of all of the pain. I made peace with my past in this. I made peace with myself and God in this book.”
After participating in his final extensive rehabilitation program, Lanier has been clean for eight years. Since then, he has developed a passion for helping others who are struggling with the same disease. Lanier said he’s spoken at prisons and Narcotics Anonymous meetings, among other places, to tell his story and advocate against drug and alcohol use.
More recently, Lanier said that he’s started speaking to young people about drugs and alcohol.
“There are a lot of [young] people playing around with drugs and alcohol, and they don’t understand the consequences, which are the words that are in this book,” explained Lanier. “Maybe it will stop them from getting all the way into the addiction. Once you get into addiction, you can’t stop it.”
Lanier said he has begun working with a local news station to try to get into Hamilton County schools to tell his story and help teenagers who may be faced with the choice of whether or not to try drugs or alcohol. Lanier said he wants them to hear from someone who’s been there.
“I’m trying to get into schools to tell my story because I realize that a preacher or teacher may not have all of the information they need, and considering the experience I’ve had, I figured it would be helpful to pull teens back from the cliff,” Lanier said.
Lanier’s book is only available through his website, so if you’d like to read more about his battle and eventual triumph with addiction, visit waitingtodiebook.com.