{"id":3026,"date":"2025-07-01T17:46:49","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T17:46:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/?p=3026"},"modified":"2025-07-01T17:46:50","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T17:46:50","slug":"brian-farr-the-long-way-home-and-recovery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/2025\/07\/01\/brian-farr-the-long-way-home-and-recovery\/","title":{"rendered":"Brian Farr, the Long Way Home, and Recovery"},"content":{"rendered":"\n


Brian Farr, the Long Way Home, and Recovery<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
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By the time Brian Farr came to CORE in 2020, his years as an untethered drifter were finally behind him. For decades, he\u2019d chased the next high with little concern for the future. With greying hair and weathered features, he\u2019d been carrying the same devil-may-care attitude that had driven him since his teens. Back then, he\u2019d skip school and fritter away entire days chasing thrills along long, circuitous paths that eventually led back to his family\u2019s home in suburban south St. Louis County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nothing lasts forever. Maybe it was the weeks spent couch surfing or sleeping in his car, but something inside him had shifted. By his own admission, Brian was just done. He\u2019d been taking the long way home his entire life\u2014and he was tired of it. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t fun anymore<\/em>,\u201d he says. \u201cFor a long time, even when I was getting in trouble, there were still the thrills. But not anymore. It became empty<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some respects, Brian was finally growing up. And when he finally got serious about recovery, he had a revelation\u2014something he never expected: his life was just beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What makes Brian\u2019s story all the more striking is that he never seemed like a likely candidate for addiction. He grew up in a stable, middle-class family with both parents at home and three brothers. His parents\u2014children of the 1960s\u2014were \u201cflower children<\/em>,\u201d as he describes them, but they instilled strong values, a belief in hard work, and a deep love for their boys. Brian even attended both Lutheran and Catholic schools. But from an early age, something in him resisted structure. He skipped school so often that during his junior year of high school, he finally dropped out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It wasn\u2019t long before drugs entered the picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 18, his younger brother handed him a joint. \u201cI didn\u2019t feel much the first time<\/em>,\u201d Brian says. \u201cBut that second time? I got the giggles, the munchies\u2014it was fun<\/em>.\u201d Within three months, he had progressed to cocaine and methamphetamine. \u201cThe obsession hit fast<\/em>,\u201d he says. \u201cOnce I got hooked, that was it. It ran my life for decades<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brian never fully embraced adulthood\u2014he just went through the motions. Methamphetamines became the center of everything. Though he held a well-paying technical job in the professional printing industry, his earnings quickly vanished into his habit (as did the job). He and his longtime girlfriend\u2014the mother of his three children\u2014made it work for a while, but his substance use slowly unraveled their home. After 15 years, the relationship collapsed. \u201cShe stuck by me for so long<\/em>,\u201d he says. \u201cI never got right<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More losses followed. Brian became estranged from everyone he loved\u2014his children, parents, and siblings. \u201cFrom that point on, my life became about the drugs. For money. For everything<\/em>.\u201d At one point, he remembers staying awake for 22 straight days on meth. His mind began to unravel. \u201cI never saw purple monkeys<\/em>,\u201d he says, \u201cbut I saw cops in trees and had full conversations with people who weren\u2019t there<\/em>.\u201d He also began cycling in and out of the justice system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2015, he suffered a brain aneurysm that impaired his speech and mobility for months. \u201cI was so mad at the world<\/em>,\u201d he says. \u201cI kept using<\/em>.\u201d There were a few half-hearted attempts to seek help\u2014even one at CORE\u2014but it wasn\u2019t until 2020 that the moment of clarity finally came, and in the most unlikely of places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was getting high with this guy I kind of recognized<\/em>,\u201d Brian recalls. \u201cAnd he started quoting the Big Book\u2014just dropping recovery language left and right. That\u2019s when it hit me: I\u2019d been on a detour my whole life. I told him, \u2018I can\u2019t do this anymore. I\u2019m going back to Branson<\/em>.\u2019\u201d That night, Brian drove back and slept in CORE\u2019s parking lot. The next morning, our site manager, Bracy Sams, found him there.<\/p>\n\n\n

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It was a humble beginning, but Brian brought with him something he\u2019d never had before: willingness. He immediately enrolled in CORE\u2019s CARE counseling program with Bruce Wood and began working the 12 Steps. He also embraced our recovery community and started to give back through volunteer work. The change in his outlook and attitude was nothing short of remarkable. Before long, Brian became a CORE staff member, working in the transportation department at our Branson campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brian is quick to express his gratitude, especially to God. \u201cI\u2019m very grateful to God<\/em>,\u201d he says. \u201cI couldn\u2019t have done this without Him<\/em>.\u201d His recovery stayed on course even after a serious medical setback\u2014a stroke. \u201cThey barely caught it in time<\/em>,\u201d he says. \u201cBut I didn\u2019t use. I came straight back to CORE as soon as I could<\/em>.\u201d Although the stroke left him unable to continue working, Brian found new ways to contribute and stay productive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He joined CORE\u2019s 2nd Mile program, where he assists with charity and community events. \u201cThe volunteer work makes me feel better\u2014happier<\/em>,\u201d he says. \u201cI like being able to help people. It gives me a sense of purpose<\/em>.\u201d He also helps Branson facilities manager Tamara Spencer when able, often arriving before office hours to open the recovery center for the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The change in Brian is visible to everyone around him\u2014including his family. \u201cMy parents came down for my birthday. They love me again. Well, I know they always loved me. I mean, they didn\u2019t trust me. But now they do<\/em>.\u201d Brian has also reconciled with his children, all now young men. His oldest son has a two-year-old\u2014Brian\u2019s first grandchild.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His whole family looks forward to the day he returns to St. Louis, but they understand his decision to stay with CORE a little longer. When asked what\u2019s stopping him, he gives an answer we\u2019ve heard often from our graduates: \u201cI\u2019m not quite ready yet. I\u2019ve still got some things to do here. But when I do return, I\u2019ll still be about helping others<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of those things is continuing to work through the effects of his stroke. Though he\u2019s not yet able to return to full-time work, Brian is gradually rebuilding his strength and stamina. \u201cI\u2019ve been able to do small things<\/em>,\u201d he says\u2014and he\u2019s determined to keep moving forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked where he sees himself five years from now, Brian doesn\u2019t hesitate: \u201cI\u2019ll have my own place, where my kids and family can come visit me<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He reflects on everything CORE has meant to him:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCORE saved my life. It gave me the tools I needed to live in my own skin and be content. Today I have a great relationship with my family and my children. They respect me again. None of this would have been possible without the program<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brian Farr, the Long Way Home, and Recovery By the time Brian Farr came to CORE in 2020, his years as an untethered drifter were finally behind him. For decades, he\u2019d chased the next high with little concern for the future. With greying hair and weathered features, he\u2019d been carrying the same devil-may-care attitude that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3026"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3026\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3040,"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3026\/revisions\/3040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}