A Scots dad who lost everything to a 20-year battle with alcohol addiction has launched a support podcast in the hopes of helping others get sober.
Jamie Lynch began drinking aged 15 as a coping mechanism to deal with the physical abuse he suffered at home. What began as weekend visits to the pub spiralled into a crippling addiction that robbed him of his home, his daughter and his friends, and even left him homeless. The now 39-year-old has been sober for three years and turned his life around.
He now plans to launch his own support podcast, A Day In the Life with Jamie Lynch, with guests such as Scots actor Shaun O'Kane and author Aidan Martin set to take part.
Jamie, from Dunfermline, told the Record: "When I first discovered alcohol I thought I was Jack the lad.
"Going out boozing every weekend seems so normal, but it did so much harm to me. It took 20 years of my life.
"Now I'm sober, I'm really positive and confident. People used to say I would be dead before I was 40.
"I hope sharing my story, and the stories of my guests, will inspire other people struggling with addiction and show them you can change your life for the better."
Jamie's six-year relationship with his first wife broke down due to his "out of control drinking" which saw him stash bottles of booze around the house.
Still in his twenties, he met a new partner who gave birth to his first child - but he was still gripped by addiction.
He continued: "I lost contact with my daughter and I was kicked out of my house.
"I began drinking excessively, I'd be in a pub every night for a year and I wouldn't eat for days. I looked terrible. I'd start drinking as soon as I opened my eyes. Then I started drinking at work.
"I gave up on life and couldn't find a way out. I felt so ashamed, I wouldn't leave the house."
At his lowest, Jamie slept rough in a local park until he was given a space at a homeless shelter. When he couldn't afford to buy alcohol, he resorted to shoplifting.
"All I cared about was booze. No-one wanted to know me - my family disowned me and my friends didn't want to be around. I would only ask people for money.
"I don't blame them for not wanting to put up with me."
Jamie then began a relationship with his now-wife Lara, and in 2017 she fell pregnant. Despite managing to stop drinking for seven months, he relapsed on a work night out and became 'stuck in a crippling loop' of addiction.
Then on May 23, 2020, Jamie left his home in his car and drank himself unconscious. His devastated wife Lara managed to find him and bring him home at which point she gave him an ultimatum: get sober or get out.
He added: "I went to bed that night and I remember shaking and having heart palpitations.
"I blacked out and remember falling towards a white light. I believed I was falling to my death but I saw my gran standing in front of me and she told me it wasn't my time.
"I've never felt as close to death as that night. The next morning I made a promise to my wife I would never drink again."
Jamie received counselling through Fife Alcohol Support Services which helped him get to the root of his addiction and see a future for himself as a recovered alcoholic.
He is also now writing a book about his experience with addiction and recovery ahead of his podcast launch next month.
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