Overcoming a Life of Addiction

(ABC 6 News) – Struggling with addiction and facing one’s past demons is not an easy thing to do. Tim Volz of Rochester, makes it look easy.

Volz recently published his first book titled, “Target Practice.” Inviting readers in to see what a life of drugs and alcohol can do to a person. But it also shows how one can rise above the obstacles that come in the recovery process.

18 years ago, was when Volz was entering one of the lowest points of his life.

“I was a school teacher… I lost my teaching license in 2004,” Volz said. “I had a string of DWI’s and became pretty much un-hireable.”

The DWI’s turned into a couple of felonies. Which only propelled his drug and alcohol use.

It wasn’t until going through an alcohol recovery program that Volz sobered up. Sparking an idea to fuse his troubled past with his passion of teaching.

Over the last 12 years, Volz ground through a master’s program; Becoming a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor and a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor for the Resilience Center in Rochester.

“I’m a grinder,” Volz said. “I still have obstacles and trials to go through, but I’m in a better place than I’ve ever been and I’m going to meet these challenges ahead.”

Six years ago, Volz decided to share his story with the world. By putting everything he’s learned from his personal experience in recovery, to what he learned in the classroom, into a book.

“What I’m hoping to do is lay out some of the good things that go on in recovery treatment, some of the things that need improvement and solutions to the treatment field as a whole,” Volz said.

Volz also hopes the book will provide a clear understanding of what it’s like being a counselor.

Volz held a book signing at the Sword of Six tattoo shop in Kasson on Saturday (Sept 10th, 2022)

When asked about the choice of venue, he stated it’s because tattoos played an instrumental part in getting him on a clean path.

“Ink therapy is a big part of my recovery,” Volz said “It has been for the past 5 years.”

Tattoo artist, Jim Hores, has been inking Volz during those five years. Noting that even 15 years sober, Volz is still a beacon of positivity.

“He’s always really been upbeat,” Hores said. “He’s always been really energetic and really positive.

“To me, he’s always been the same, he’s just been more and more positive through the years.”

During the signing, a number of Volz friends from his recovery groups stopped by for a copy of his book. But more importantly, they checked up on each other to see how they’d been doing.

Keil Litchtenwalter was in a recovery group with Volz twice. But says he’s now on a better path because of Volz.

“..You throw something at a wall and eventually it sticks,” Keil said. “The guys got a lot of good info to give and it stuck and I’m doing a lot better because of it.”

Target Practice is available for preorder on Amazon and Barnes n Noble.

It’s set to be released on October 3rd.