“I thought I could buy my recovery... I thought they were going to teach me how to drink.”

By the time Joseph arrived at Higher Ground, he had spent nearly a decade trying—and failing—to buy his way into recovery. After years of private rehabs, lost fortunes, a violent relationship, and time on the streets, Joseph was spiritually bankrupt. “I was gone spiritually. I was empty walking around the house.”

Higher Ground was not his first choice. “I’d been trying to stay away from Higher Ground for years,” he admitted. “I just didn’t think I could do it.” Even once admitted, Joseph tried to avoid the programme’s intensity. “I’m trying to talk my counsellor into the fact that I don’t need Higher Ground and I should do the Salvation Army programme.”

But Higher Ground didn’t let him sidestep the process. “They break you down . . . You have these confrontational, confronting sessions in front of everyone else. And for the first time I realised I had to get vulnerable.” That shift came around week five. “I really truly surrendered. I was still pushing a bit.” Surrendering meant giving up control, something Joseph, an ex-elite athlete and entrepreneur, had resisted for years.

“Just let the process work . . . Don’t try to run your own show. Just let them do their stuff.”

The programme’s structure became foundational. “We did our own invents [structured writing session at the end of each day where residents reflect on their progress] . . .” He found comfort in the shared humanity of the house “cleaning . . . preparing food for others. “My story was just the same as the others . . . I’m not the only one in this boat” he would think. Equally vital was learning to sit with emotion. “I can sit with my emotions now. I don’t have to fix them. I can feel uncomfortable and that’s okay.” In his own words: “If I had resentments, I’d pick up a drink. That’s what it came out.”

One of Joseph’s most meaningful artefacts from his time at Higher Ground is his nightly reflections book, or “invents” journal.

Each night, residents wrote five things they were grateful for and reflected on their day. “Sometimes you’re so tired . . . but you’ve got to hand your books in.” His first entry read, “I’m grateful for arriving at Higher Ground, having a wonderful support group, which includes my daughters and so on.” These pages, kept in a suitcase behind his chair, remain a living reminder of what it took to reclaim his life.

Since graduating, Joseph has rebuilt a life of integrity and meaning. He now manages a boutique funeral business, guiding families through their hardest moments. “I never thought I’d ever get round a boardroom table again. Ever.” Today, he carries his Higher Ground commitment books close and his even closer: “Don’t waste the opportunity. It’s an opportunity that’s gifted to very few.” Joseph would tell others to “Just give it your best shot... you’re not going to get well if you don’t get real.”