“Gritty, heart-wrenching, and ultimately inspiring—a raw testament to the human spirit’s refusal to break.”

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WHEN STEVEN WAS HIT BY A DRUNK DRIVER in 2000, he thought the worst was behind him. But a prescription for OxyContin spiraled into a heroin addiction that tore his life apart. Once a fearless kid soaring off bike ramps and skating with national champions, he became a shadow of himself—homeless, incarcerated, and estranged from his children, who were told he was dead.

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A PAGE-TURNING MEMOIR OF SURVIVAL, Never Gave Up follows Steven’s descent into the opioid epidemic’s grip, through 16 rehabs, five years in prison, and eight years on the streets. Betrayed by a justice system that turned him into a “cash cow,” he faced unimaginable lows—from his father’s cocaine-fueled delusions to a $10 heroin pack that landed him two years behind bars. Yet, in the darkness, a glimmer of hope emerged: a pen pal stationed in Iraq, a woman he’d never met, who became his wife the day they met in person.

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With unflinching honesty and relentless courage, Steven shares his 17-year journey to sobriety, rebuilding his life from nothing—finding love, becoming a father again, and pursuing a new dream as an addiction specialist. This is a story of redemption born from ruin, a beacon of hope for anyone fighting addiction or loving someone who is. Steven’s fight proves one truth: you can rise from the ashes, but you must never give up.