Ironing Money

"e;Ironing Money"e; tells the story of Dennis Scott Farmer, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Legacy Village - one of the country's only privately ran Veterans recovery centers. Dennis was born to young parents in a rural part of California's Central Valley. His tumultuous upbringing would lead to a pattern of bad behaviors - not the criminal kind that land you in jail, but the mental, emotional, and physical kind that leads to addiction and death. Lying, deception and all-out debauchery were on the menu as Dennis entered adulthood - not that he had any idea what being an adult meant, let alone a productive one. He was moving on a whim, changing jobs without thinking, and had a total lack of commitment. Those were the characteristics he excelled at. All the while, the trusted friend of alcohol was there every step of the way. It would turn from a love affair to an obsession, and from an obsession to self-destruction. After years of struggle with alcohol, Dennis would find himself in a cycle of addiction treatment and relapse. Multiple failures and many returns to the bottle should have killed him - and it almost did. At just 135 pounds, there was little physically left. Even less of his mental or emotional being remained. A walk to buy booze and a small church on the corner would be the small spark that reminded him there was more to life than this. There weren't great flashes of lightning, and he didn't hear the voice of God, but he did remember his humanity just long enough to think hope may not be dead despite the fact he almost was. You never know what twists and turns life may have in store for you, but Dennis found out that the adventure of sobriety could be as unpredictable and chaotic as his addiction. Only, in sobriety, the risk and rewards of life were far more positive. Life can change in a moment, and a single moment can change your life.