From Addict To Advocate
How One River Edge Resident’s Traditional Redemption Story Is Helping Others By Kevin Czerwinski
It’s a lengthy list of responsibilities. Gladwell’s passion about her work comes from her experiences as an addict – events that were often times painful, embarrassing and humbling.
Lisa Gladwell is an addict. That’s not a secret. Anyone who has spoken to Gladwell knows what the River Edge resident has experienced throughout much of her life, whether it’s the pain, the suffering or the crashes brought on by pills and alcohol. If you know Gladwell, though, you also know about the comebacks and the triumphs and the work she has done to help ensure that others don’t find themselves in the position that she once did. Hers can be called a traditional redemption story, but this one still doesn’t have an ending. Gladwell, 63, continues to mend fences while helping others, realizing that every day she still must confront the fragility of her addiction. Her work to help others in the recovery community is a never-ending affair, one that takes up most of her time. She remains unstoppable, though, determined to help those find the strength they need to control their addictions while providing them with a safe environment to do so. Gladwell is the founder of New Jersey Re-
covery Advocates [NJRA], a grassroots organization that endeavors to end stigma, educate and celebrate recovery from addiction. NJRA also holds monthly recovery forums for community leaders in addition to its signature event, the Recovery Walk/Rally that will take place in Liberty State Park on National Recovery Day, Sept. 18. Gladwell, who will celebrate 20 years of sobriety in November, also owns and operates God Winks, a cooperative sober living home for ladies in Westwood. Additionally, she is involved with the Father Jim McKenna Memorial Fund, which helps those in early recovery. And, she is the chair of Transition Professionals, Bergen County’s re-entry organization based in Hackensack.
18
To understand who Gladwell is now and what she does means understanding who she was and what her journey entailed. She was born in South Jersey and moved a great deal because her father, who was an FBI agent, was always on the move. Ultimately, she settled in Bergen County and graduated from Northern Valley High School at Demarest and then St. Peter’s College in Jersey City. She also earned a law degree from Pace University – yes, she also manages to be a practicing lawyer – but it was during her teenage years that her troubling foundation was put down. “I was addicted to drugs and alcohol and when I say alcohol, that was the primary because it was legal,” Gladwell said. “My preference would be opiates. Opiates are close to alcohol without the horrible taste. In my teenage years
