Many of us have failed upward in life, watched ourselves fumble through situations only to be promoted and praised, but the same cannot be said for Asher Maslan. Asher has excelled at everything he has ever put his mind to, and still fell into the same pit of debilitating alcoholism as all the failures. Asher has succeeded downward.
For most of his life, Asher had everything he ever wanted. This was no gift. He worked and earned these things and he was proud of it. From a very lucrative real estate career to a wife and three kids, Asher had everything that society deems worthy of praise. But something was missing. Asher wasn’t Asher. He was merely a cardboard cutout of the man that he thought people wanted him to be. The real Asher, a scared and lonely child, stood shaking behind his well-crafted facade drowning himself in booze and hoping that no one would ever truly see him.
Over time, Asher’s drinking consumed him. He begged for a D.U.I., an intervention, anything to get out of the life he was living. He had lost his job and his family, but in the mind of a man in the depths of his addiction, these weren’t clear enough signs to get clean. So Asher’s loved ones told him it was time for him to go to treatment. His first stay at Beit T’Shuvah resembled his approach to life challenges thus far. When told he would be signing on for a 6-month program, Asher said he would do it in 3… and then left after 59 days. In many ways, he thought he could win rehab. He believed that if he did all the right things he could beat his alcoholism without having to dive into why he drank in the first place. As many of us know, this doesn’t work. Asher knows now that time is key to the healing of a broken mind. That’s why Beit T’Shuvah is so special. It gave him the time he needed to water his mental garden and watch it grow before reaping its fruits.
After returning to Beit T’Shuvah, Asher spent a year as a resident, six months as a Program Facilitator, and is now in his first week as a Counselor. When faced with the crossroads of going back to his life of wealth and excess or helping others, it was clear to Asher that the latter would lead him to a happier life. Asher sees every opportunity as ripe with educational value. He knows that as he helps guide residents through their program, he will be strengthening his own. There are few people in this world as loving and kind as Asher. With a new lease on life, a new vision of his future, and a newfound love for himself, nothing will stand in Asher’s way. To me, that’s success.