Steven Cesnick was born in Detroit and raised in Brighton, Michigan, where a tight‑knit community and boundless energy shaped his childhood. In 2001, a workplace accident left him on OxyContin-and thrust him into the heart of America's opioid epidemic. "I was addicted and left for dead," he admits-sliding from prescription painkiller addiction into heroin dependence, homelessness, and 16 rehabs.Over the next decade, Steven's life becomes a raw prison redemption narrative: multiple stints behind bars, brutal prison labor details, and family court battles that ripped his children from his arms. In one chilling moment, he faces down a dope‑house raid in Detroit; in another, he watches a single dose of speedball nearly kill him. His descent into chaos captures the unvarnished horror of addiction memoirs-detox nightmares, withdrawal agony, and the constant fight to score another hit.First released from prison in 2007, Steven vowed to transform his life-but a return to lock‑up in 2008 threatened everything. It was only through faith, fierce determination, and the support of friends and family that he reclaimed his future. Today, with more than seventeen years of continuous recovery, he co‑founds Model A Construction in Traverse City, Michigan, and advocates for fathers' rights in family court.Never Gave Up is a powerful sobriety journey and survival story: a true recovery memoir of relapse and redemption, offering gritty realism and hard‑won hope. Perfect for readers of addiction memoirs, opioid epidemic narratives, and father's rights memoirs, this book delivers unflinching honesty, practical insight, and the unbreakable power of the human spirit.
