Reality Check: Making the Best of The Situation - How I Overcame Addiction, Loss, and Prison

by Mike Sorrentino

“I love a success story, but even more than a success story, I like a dude-who-fucks-his-life-up-and-gets-his-life-together-again story.”

Though I have to admit, as a result of those punishments during my adolescence, I now suffer from a rare psychological condition known as “having respect for others.”

Pain in life is inevitable, and you can’t ignore it. Drugs bury it. They don’t make it go away. When you get sober, all that recessed pain is dug up. You have to work through it to get back to your baseline. Life doesn’t get easier; you get stronger.

Vinny graduated from college and had been studying to be a lawyer before the show.

Though still a work in progress, I certainly was on the right track. I was finding success beating something that most people die from.

“The Comeback Is Always Greater Than the Setback,”

“Nobody cares—work harder.”