MARK’S STORY
As the child of a narcotics addict, Mark Van Wagoner suffered with opiate addiction since the age of 19. While on the surface living a respectable life, his private life was crumbling and he literally faced death and prison a few times in his journey. His turn- ing point came when on the brink of losing everything—his wife, his children, his
job, and possibly his life—he heard these words in a movie: “You gotta get busy living, or get busy dying.” He chose living and started down the difficult path to recovery.
Mark is a well-known local TV and radio personality, and even though he was warned professionally to “keep quiet” about his struggle with addiction, he and his family determined that if his example could result in just one other person finding recovery, the consequences to his work and status would be justified. He has since been an outspoken advocate for intervention and recovery—living proof that addiction reaches into every stratum of society, and also living proof that people can and do recover.
Mark volunteers freely in the treatment and recovery community, and he and his wife have served a substance abuse recovery mission for their church. He is a frequent public speaker to doctors, pharmacists, legislators, and prison groups, volunteering his considerable talents to wiping out this plague. Because of his association with the media,
he has had many opportunities to speak about his recovery and his life-long challenge on television and ra- dio as well as online. His life has been blessed by recovery as he has been able to keep his family together, send his five children to college, and live a meaningful and productive life.