I Want to Be Free

About the Book

This is a collection of addiction, recovery and spiritual poems. These are poems about the life and experiences of a now; recovering addict. The poems were written during the worse times of my life and continue through the present, which are the best days of my life.

About the Author

Carl H. Leonard is a 56 year old inspiring poet. Born and raised in Trenton NJ, he is the proud father of five grown children. Carl is a recovering addict, deeply involved in a 12 step program of recovery. He spent over 30 years in active addiction on the city streets of Trenton and New Brunswick New Jersey and Germantown Pa. A good portion of his life was spent living in abandon buildings and houses, sleeping on park benches and in the local shelters. Through the grace of God he was able to survive all the misery, sorrow and shame that come with smoking crack, to tell about it. He has lived the horrors of hell and the joys of a new found life. Carl has witnessed the unspeakable, of what comes with the disease of addiction. Carl has been writing poetry since 1986, when he penned his first one, at his first meeting of a 12 step program. He has written over 1000 poems since that time, but unfortunately most have been lost due to constant relapse, and living pillar to post. Presently in college, studying to be a Drug and Alcohol Counselor, he endeavors to be a beacon of hope to the suffering addict, looking for a way to stop and stay stopped. He wants to be free and so should you.