New Jersey residents Scott McLane and Richvisited Solutions Journalism: Covering Addiction today to share their personal stories of addiction and recovery.

Reflection on Scott McLane

by Danielle Nick

“I’m not really good at not wearing it [his past] on my sleeve; why should I lie?” After listening to Scott McLane’s story on Tuesday, this quote stuck with me. To me, these words represented how Scott chooses to live his life, bravely and genuinely. He overcame his past, despite any obstacles, and it is something he is proud of. Scott discussed how he was always known as the kid in his neighborhood who was going to be successful. He was accepted to prestigious schools, such as Columbia University. Unfortunately, Scott’s family life was chaotic at this point in his life, and he did not get the opportunity to visit the schools he was accepted to. However, he eventually decided on Rutgers University in New Jersey. While in college, he began partying more. Scott admitted that he did not know how to communicate about his feelings. Instead, when someone asking how he was, his default response was, “I’m fine.” Toward the end of his addiction, he was homeless, living out of a car. He said he never even thought about getting clean and sober. During his darkest times, Scott contemplated ending his life. However, his mom was his inspiration to keep going. Sadly, his mom passed, but she was able to see Scott turn his life around.

Scott went to rehab and started going to A.A. meetings. He said meetings were where he was able to start feeling hopeful about his future. He went back to school, and while he was discussing his second try with higher education he said, “I did find out something about college. If you buy the books and go to classes, it’s not that hard.” Throughout his presentation, Scott discussed heavy memories, but he managed to intertwine humor. I think this mix of heavy and light made his speech even more engaging. Scott boldly concluded, “You get another shot sometimes.”