Dennis and His Son on Addiction and Hitting Rock Bottom— Ep. 321 Fireside Chat | Fireside Chat

hi everybody Welcome to fireside chat number 321 I'm Dennis Prager and a few times a year very few I have a guest nearly all the Fireside Chats are just you and I is it are just you and I or are just you and me now I know most people don't care but but I do in any event on occasion I have a guest and this is a special guest as it as it were well it is a special guest if I'm interested in a public figure I I'm interested in the people in their lives and their family specifically so I have two sons and I'm going to have as my guest today one of my sons my younger one Aaron Aaron Prager and he was born in 1992 by the way does that make you a Millennial I I have no idea how the these terms are are are precisely defined that's a millennial it' be Millennial I'm pretty sure that jenzi starts 95 oh really there's there's an actual date yeah that's that okay so you you made you made the millennial crowd yeah Aaron has a very very interesting story I am of the opinion that a bi a good biographer could make anybody's life interesting I I do I do believe that but clearly some people have lived more for good and for ill than others have Aaron has had a very intense life is that fair to say it's an understatement in some regards and overstatement and others okay that's fair and I will also be noting by the end of the podcast that Aaron has started a podcast but he has not used his last name he has wanted to make it on his own so this is a debut of announcing your podcast so it's a big deal yeah there there I'm sure we'll get into it more but there is definitely an element that I wanted to and it goes hand inand with the fact that I am 7 and a half years in recovery that there when I did get sober I need to separate myself from the Prager last name if you will to create my own identity learn who I was and ultimately through my recovery program gain a new relationship with God and going into now wanting to have a Content creation SL podcast SL youube channel that is focused on Modern topics uh cultural topics as well as the more religious topics um I needed like I said I needed to separate from the Prager last name get that under control prove to myself that I have self self worth aside from it well uh that's very admirable you really did not Bank on a last name and I've been watching all of your podcasts and feel it's it is a propitious time to go public because I I find them really good we'll talk about that later I want to talk about your life and your your your outlook on a number of issues so why don't we begin since you already began with recovery so let's let's tell the the basic story of you and alcohol and drugs okay uh I mean I I I think the place to start is and something that I feel feel a lot of people can relate with who were alcoholic drug addicted as well is the feeling I remember the first time I got sufficiently intoxicated I said to myself I want to feel like this every single day and I chase that feeling ultimately to the gates of you know in in recovery circles you say untreated you end up in one of three places jails institutions and death and I was knocking on that last one very close so I have learned an immense amount about addiction from you your openness is a big part of your appeal and this will I think will help a lot of people who know somebody who was addicted as well as those who are so that was I didn't interrupt you but that was like sort of a revelation to those of us who have not had this issue you knew from the first time this is a great feeling yeah it was it was as if you know people talk about when they achieve certain milestones in their life they're like I've arrived right I've arrived at my destination this is what I was building towards this is what I needed this is what I enjoy ultimately that was the same thing when it came to me and alcohol now my story includes other substances as well but alcohol was my main Vice I had to have it at all costs and would neglect every other aspect of my life to be able to pursue what I really wanted in a way alcohol became my solution to my problem and I know it's weird for a lot of people to hear that because they think oh if you take the away from the alcoholic their lives tend to get better my experience and I'm going to jump just jump forward a second is when I did get sober and I didn't have now sober and Recovery I I differentiate between the two we'll get into that I was more miserable sober than I was drinking because I had lost my solution to enable me to get at least get through the day so hold my one sec I just want to remind everybody that to see the rest of this uh interview this uh this fireside chat go to prageru.com we do that because frankly we don't trust big Tech not to pull the plug one day and we want to get people into the habit of going straight to prageru.com to watch our videos I promise you it is worth it there will be people who hear this whose lives will be changed for the better so go to prageru.com