Calling it Quits

Jason Peterla: Musician

"I did $300-$400 of crystal meth a day,
from 1994 to 1999. I raved with friends. After two years, I went to
rehab. But the day I left, I got high. In the summer of 1997 I overdosed
and my heart stopped. In December 1999 I woke up in a hospital. I figured
I wasn't going to wake up a third time. I met a girl who
wasn't into partying or drugs. I separated myself from my former
friends, quit my job, changed my phone number and locked myself in my
house. I fooled a lot of people those years. I made those choices. I have
to live with it."

Gene Light: Retired Art Director

"After four packs a day for 46
years, I stopped because I couldn't stand the plane ride from New
York to California to visit my grandkids. I still miss smoking. I know if
I tried a cigarette, I would be right back to four packs a day."

Robin Aigner: Copy Editor/Musician

"I wanted to quit smoking
before I was 30. But as I approached 31 and couldn't stop, I knew
I'd need a huge incentive. I got on my bike to train for the
Boston-New York AIDS Ride. I was nervous about quitting and thought I
needed chemical support to quit, so I took Zyban. But I stopped because
it gave me insomnia. I thought about cigarettes every second of every day
for a month. I knew I never wanted to go through the process of quitting
again. But doing it changed my life and opened a lot of doors. I felt
accomplished and powerful. And I became a musician."

Thor Spangler: Occupational Therapist

"I worked in a bar where
coke was readily available, and I snorted it every night. I also downed
five or six tequilas and smoked a pack a day. My wife was an alcoholic
with her own chemical dependencies. It was hard to break free of my
habits around her. After we broke up, in the spring of 2001, I got away
from the bar scene. I went back to school. And I remarried. Although I
quit before I met my second wife, I would risk losing her if I relapsed.
Falling in love saved my life."