NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — It took a long time, but Zach Grace says he never thought he'd feel this joy in the first place.
Grace joined hands along the Seigenthaler Bridge in Nashville with other people in addiction recovery because through his journey, he found his pride in life.
"Now today I sit here father, husband, homeowner, everything I thought I never could be," Grace said.
He now works with Freeman Recovery Center and shares his story with kids at schools.
"Yeah, 17, 18, I was a full-blown addict, so I started selling drugs to maintain my habit," Grace said. "I will tell you the next 10 years of my life it was homelessness, jails, mama crying."
At a bench on the bridge, Grace shared his battle with addiction and his breaking point.
"My kid was born addicted to the drugs I was doing and he was taken from me," Grace said.
He said he had a choice to go to jail or go to treatment.
"They seen a guy just sitting in their office, 90 lbs, probably visibly addicted to drugs, and they took a chance on me," Grace said.
That chance opened the door for Grace's recovery journey.
"It took a full surrender to God and say, 'Hey man, I can't do this. I want to be a dad,'" Grace said.
"I got my kid back when I was 18 months clean," Grace said. "I know there is a mom out there whose son is locked up and she's lost complete hope. If these hundreds of people can do this, it might spark a little hope for her son."
The Tennessee Association of Alcohol, Drug and Other Addiction Services held the annual Hands Across the Bridge event.
Have you or someone you know struggled with addiction and found hope through recovery? Watch Kim Rafferty's full report to hear more of Zach's inspiring transformation and see the powerful community gathering on the Seigenthaler Bridge. Share your own recovery story or questions about addiction resources with Kim at kim.rafferty@NewsChannel5.com.
In this article, we used artificial intelligence to help us convert a video news report originally written by Kim Rafferty. When using this tool, both Kim and the NewsChannel 5 editorial team verified all the facts in the article to make sure it is fair and accurate before we published it. We care about your trust in us and where you get your news, and using this tool allows us to convert our news coverage into different formats so we can quickly reach you where you like to consume information. It also lets our journalists spend more time looking into your story ideas, listening to you and digging into the stories that matter.
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