A journey through unexpected addiction
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Success, loss of control and the road back
Addiction does not always look the way we expect. At 48, Gordon Lownds was a successful entrepreneur helping to build Sleep Country Canada when cocaine addiction rapidly took hold of his life. In less than 1,000 days, he went from professional success and a sense of control to a crisis that threatened his health, relationships and future. His experience challenges assumptions about who can develop an addiction and how quickly substance use can transform a life.
Moderated by Akela Peoples, CEO of Mental Health Research Canada, Gordon shares the circumstances that led to his addiction, the double life he maintained while continuing to work and the point at which he could no longer manage alone. Joined by addiction and mental health clinician Susan Raphael, the conversation explores recovery, personal responsibility and the importance of seeking support, while challenging the idea that professional success or personal resilience can protect someone from addiction.
Expert Voices
Gordon Lownds
Co-founder, Sleep Country Canada and ListenUP! Canada; Author, Cracking Up
Gordon Lownds is a Canadian entrepreneur who co-founded Sleep Country Canada and ListenUP! Canada. While helping build Sleep Country into a major Canadian business, he developed a cocaine addiction at age 48 that unravelled his personal life in less than 1,000 days. In his memoir, Cracking Up: From Rising Star to Junkie Despair in 1,000 Days – An Unlikely Addict’s Memoir, Gordon recounts his experience with addiction, treatment and recovery, challenging assumptions about who is vulnerable to substance use disorders.
Susan Raphael
Addiction and Mental Health Clinician, Sustainable Recovery Counselling Services
Susan Raphael is an addiction and mental health clinician and founder of Sustainable Recovery Counselling Services in Toronto. With more than 20 years of experience working with individuals and families affected by addiction, she combines clinical expertise with her own lived experience of long-term recovery. She is the author of What’s Wrong with My Teen? Finding Answers to Teenage Addiction and Family Crisis and, at the time of the broadcast, was a referral clinician with the NBA/NBPA Clinicians’ Network.
What is Stories of Hope: Voices of Lived Experience?
This webinar series creates space for people to share their experiences with mental health in their own words. Hosted by Mental Health Research Canada, the series uses personal stories to offer insight and inspiration while highlighting the roles that hope, connection and recovery can play in people’s lives.
