“I moved to the UK when I was 18, to stay with my father. Shortly after arriving, I was sexually assaulted, which led to poor mental health and a drinking problem.
What followed was fifteen years of addiction.
Over the years, I did what I could to keep my job as a chef, but I was involved in several incidents because of my substance abuse.
In 2017, I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, I was severely underweight, and a doctor warned me I wouldn’t survive for long if I didn’t stop drinking.
This was also the year I became homeless. While living on the streets, I had three nose surgeries, and broke my jaw, hand and cheekbone, due to violence I was subjected to.
During this time, I read a lot, as it was an escape from reality.
2020 was a turning point for me, as I was finally accepted into rehabilitation.
From there, I moved into supported accommodation with Kairos Community Trust and then Nacro, with the support of a social worker throughout. I’m now five years sober.
In my recovery, I’ve found peace of mind in literature. I’ve read a lot, and I particularly enjoy crime and paranormal books. I found myself feeling jealous of the writers and I thought, maybe I could do that! So, I swapped reading for writing.
For the past few years, I’ve been writing my own novel, which I managed to finish and self-publish as an e-book and hard cover last year. It’s a crime novel with a paranormal twist.
Writing fiction gives me a focus, I can sit in front of my computer for a few hours a day and put myself into the story, imagining where my characters are.
To this day, I find a lot of pleasure in creating, writing and living the stories that I try to put on paper.
The rehabilitation process happens in stages and I’m currently on the last stage of my journey, stage five, where I have the chance to do something with my life.
I’m now working on my second book, which is more of a crime action story, no ghosts in this one!
I moved into my home with Southern Housing last May, it’s the first place I’ve lived independently. It’s important for me to live in peace and so far, I’m very happy here. It’s in a nice area and I feel safe and comfortable. If all goes well, I’d like to stay here for as long as I can.
Maybe one day, someone will find peace of mind reading my books, the same way I did while I was reading, that's my dream.
Norbert’s e-book ‘Message From the Past’ is available on Amazon.