On March 7, 2015, I hit bottom. I was living out of a little white Ford in a Walmart parking lot in Twin Falls, Idaho, with booze, cigarettes and meth on the dashboard. My family couldn't take me in anymore. That morning ended with my last DUI arrest and a jail cell.

I'd served in the U.S. Army in Germany in the 1970s, then 13 years in the Idaho National Guard's 116th Armored Cavalry. Addiction followed me through all of it. I never called VA for help, but VA found me anyway: a Veterans Justice Outreach worker showed up at the jail and gave me a way out.

I took it. Today I'm senior case manager for Boise Rescue Mission's Veterans Ministry Program, helping veterans who are where I was. I'm director of the American Legion Riders of Treasure Valley, I've volunteered at the Idaho State Veterans Home since 2017, and I'm married to my wife, Janet.

This year I published a memoir, "From River Bottoms to Rock Bottom and Back," written for veterans who feel too far gone. It includes "Buddy Notes" of advice and a list of Idaho veteran resources, and $1 from every sale goes to the Veterans Ministry Program. For Veterans Day, the Idaho Press ran a feature on my story: https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/from-rock-bottom-to-recovery-idaho...

To any Legionnaire who knows a veteran still in the parking lot: don't give up on them. Somebody didn't give up on me.

Don Lineberry
www.riverbottomsbook.com