Shooting Heroin in Kensington | I Took a Bus 5 Hours a Day to Get High… From a Normal Childhood

About this episode

Lauren Gaffney shares her journey through addiction and recovery, detailing her struggles and the impact of her choices.

Lauren Gaffney shares her raw, unfiltered story of addiction, trauma, and recovery. From a “normal” childhood in the suburbs to taking 5-hour bus rides into Kensington to score drugs, her life spiraled into heroin use, crack addiction, arrests, and years of chaos. After multiple run-ins with the law and waking up to sheriffs at her door, Lauren finally hit a breaking point. This is the story of how addiction took everything… and how she fought her way back to sobriety. If you or someone you love is struggling, this episode could change everything. Lauren Gaffney shares her raw, unfiltered story of addiction, trauma, and recovery. From a “normal” childhood in the suburbs to taking 5-hour bus rides into Kensington to score drugs, her life spiraled into heroin use, crack addiction, arrests, and years of chaos.After multiple run-ins with the law and waking up to sheriffs at her door, Lauren finally hit a breaking point. This is the story of how addiction took everything… and how she fought her way back to sobriety.If you or someone you love is struggling, this episode could change everything. If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health, you don’t have to…

People in this episode

Host: Kevin Lanning

Guest: Lauren Gaffney

Topics covered

• addiction
• recovery
• trauma
• heroin
• mental health
• personal story

Keywords

• addiction
• recovery
• heroin
• trauma
• mental health
• Kensington
• personal story

Sponsors

Compassion Behavioral Health

More episodes of Rise Above with Kevin Lanning

• I Shot Fentanyl Until I Was Completely Unconscious | Jail, Losing My Daughter & How I Finally Got Sober · June 11, 2026 · 1h 40m
• I Shot Heroin With USB Cords Tied To My Arm After 2 Tours In Afghanistan | 7 Years Sober · June 9, 2026 · 1h 12m
• I Found Out I Was Adopted At 13, Got My First DUI At 18 & Did 4 Months In Jail | 3.5 Years Sober · June 7, 2026 · 59 min
• I Blacked Out Every Night While Running The San Francisco Bureau of HuffPost | Highrise Suicide Attempt and How I Got Sober · June 5, 2026 · 1h 7m
• I Drank A Bottle Of Scotch Every Night | From Alcoholic Depression to 39 Years Sober | Suebelle Robbins · June 4, 2026 · 52 min
• Inside A Chicago Street Junkie's 20-Year Spiral | 3 DUIs, Heroin, Cook County Jail & Finding God · June 1, 2026 · 1h 24m