Last Thursday night, the Malden Public Library invited author Jack Kelly III to discuss his autobiographical memoir titled “Sharp Needle," in which he recounts his journey from being an all-star hockey player to battling a spiraling heroin addiction and his transition to recovery. Today, Kelly advocates for public health along with the epidemic of substance abuse. He also created a mobile app for people that are recovering to interact with one another.
Residents and members from the Malden Overcoming Addiction (MOA) organization were also in attendance to the event. Before coming up to speak, Kelly was given a brief introduction by Paul Hammersley , who serves as the recovery resource specialist for the City of Malden. He, himself also recovered from drugs and alcohol for about sixteen years. He recalls being homeless during that time and "attempting suicide." But he then saw his downfall as a chance at “redemption and hope." After reading Kelly’s memoir, Hammersley felt “mesmerized."
Hammersley also took the time to explain the resources that Malden offers to residents that are also struggling to come to city hall where services are provided. He also added on to the fact that it can be difficult considering that there needs to be a focus on recognizing the problem first.
At the beginning of the memoir, Kelly accounts growing up in Charlestown, Massachusetts in his early years. Coming from a good family, Kelly said that he “was continuously put in a position to succeed" because of the opportunities he had received going to a private catholic school. He played league hockey which is why he can’t exactly pinpoint the idea that got him into doing drugs because hockey was a huge factor in his life. His father especially had a tough demeanor in making sure that “[he] wasn’t caught up in all of that" by having him participate in activities.
It wasn’t until his transition from Malden Catholic to Mattapan that he came across an injury in his shoulder that became severe by the time he became a junior. Due to his conditions worsening, he had to undergo surgery and had to recover with a heavy prescription of pills. During Kelly’s time, he revealed that drugs like opioid and heroin didn’t have much availability as it did in today’s society.
One of the attendees Susan Jeselonis, serves as a recovery coach for MOA. She described hearing Kelly’s speech as a “positive" experience because of the message he delivered through which was that “addiction can [be] overcome through endurance, commitment, and recognition of an addict’s now moment" of when they choose to stop their habits. With Sharp Needle, it was a “clear -cut declaration that recovery does work in the end."
