fb-pixelInspiring journey from addiction to redemption - The Boston Globe Skip to main content
THOMAS FARRAGHER

Inspiring journey from addiction to redemption

David Perry was lost, locked so deeply into the abyss of addiction that those who knew him best and loved him most — with ample reason – nearly declared him a hopeless cause.

There were the painful cycles of sobriety and setback. Broken promises. Exchanges freighted with anger and despair. His professional life lay in ruin. Longtime friends slipped away.

But perhaps no words pierced as painfully as this simple declaration from Perry’s younger sister, Suzanne Algeri: “I don’t even know who you are anymore.’’

A month later, Perry was roused from his sleep just before 6 a.m. by a knock on his apartment door. On the other side stood agents from the FBI and the DEA, waving a warrant for Perry’s arrest as part of a large federal narcotics sweep.

Advertisement



“If you were standing next to me that day I would have told you it was the worst day of my life,’’ Perry said. “I’m shackled at the ankles, waist, and wrists with 16 strangers. Today, I’m here to tell you it was probably the single greatest event that happened to me.’’

It was difficult to discern how that could be true when Perry stood in a Boston federal courtroom on that day, Nov. 15, 2001, his devastated father, a former high school principal, blinking back tears, wondering what happened to his son the lawyer, the Holy Cross graduate who once brimmed with such potential.

Sadly, the story of Perry’s addiction to alcohol and cocaine is hardly unusual, particularly amid the epidemic of overdose and death that has now become a staple of our local news cycle. It’s what happened in the months and years after he stood in chains in that courtroom that has set him apart.

Simply put, Perry dropped the pretensions, embraced a 12-step program, and became a model federal probationer. “I had walls up everywhere,’’ he said. “I built them. One by one, those walls would come crashing down.’’

Advertisement



Facing years in federal prison, Perry, now 54, became a sought-after speaker at halfway houses, juvenile offender programs, and drug courts across the state. He now appears at recovery conferences from Miami to Anchorage.

By the time he faced Judge Mark L. Wolf for sentencing in October 2003, even the federal prosecutor, with his superiors’ assent, had dropped demands for a stint in prison. And an impressed Wolf agreed. “It gives me some hope,’’ Wolf said, according to the transcript of the sentencing hearing.

“We’re going to be rooting for you, and we’re going to hope that you don’t disappoint yourself or us,’’ Wolf told him 11 years ago.

And David Perry didn’t do that.

He returned to Judge Wolf’s courtroom last month at the red-brick federal courthouse on the Boston waterfront.

This time, there were no admonitions. Instead, there was applause and celebration and a wide and proud smile on the face of Perry’s father, Alfred, who was back in the courtroom with his son. He was joined by the rest of his family to see Wolf readmit Perry as a member of the federal bar in Massachusetts.

Perry told his sentencing judge that he will forever be in the debt of the federal court and its probation services for giving him back his life and his career.

“The last 13 years have literally been life-changing,’’ Perry said. “I’ve maintained that path. I’ve maintained that dedication. I’ve maintained my recovery.’’

Advertisement



Few know better how rare Perry’s story of resurrection is than Judge Wolf, who presides over precious few celebratory moments from the bench and credits the court’s unsung pretrial services and probation officers for it.

Perry’s sister Suzanne cherishes the light that has returned to her brother’s eyes. “At one point it was all about him,’’ she said. “Now, he’s one of the most unselfish people I know.’’

The Perry family has a Sunday tradition, gathering after Mass at the family homestead on Spring Street in Reading to drink coffee and exchange gossip.

Every once in a while, David Perry brings along a new friend, just someone else he has helped along the way.

Thomas Farragher is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at thomas.farragher@globe.com.