Lynn Marie Smith

Inspiring. Empowering. Life-saving.

At the age of 19, Lynn moved from small-town Pennsylvania to New York City to pursue a career in theatre. She was exposed to new people, new challenges, and a completely new way of life; a way of life that included drugs. Lynn wasn't old enough to sit at a bar and order a drink, but she could sit in her apartment and order any narcotic of her choice. Lynn tried pot, acid, cocaine, ketamine, heroin, ecstasy, and she washed them all down with endless amounts of alcohol. Drugs not only made her willing to forget her dream, they made her forget who she was. Lynn started using more and more. Within months, her life spiraled out of control. She worked. only to support her habit. Her time was spent getting high, dancing at clubs, and slipping closer to death. Lynn rarely ate or slept, and when she did sleep, she had nightmares and panic attacks. She ignored her deteriorating condition until it was almost too late. One night she began to hallucinate. Detached from reality, she was trapped in a nightmare.
Rolling Away book cover

Lynn spent fourteen days in a psychiatric ward receiving treatment. While in the hospital, her doctor performed a neuro-spec scan of her brain which revealed the damage she had inflicted on herself through repeated drug abuse. The image of her brain was compared to that of a 70-year old woman who had suffered multiple strokes. Lynn was placed on antipsychotics, antidepressants, sleeping medications, and mood stabilizers, basically trading one set of drugs for another. Her real struggle had njust begun. Lynn had to heal and move forward but before she could do that, she needed to figure out what went wrong. She had to find a firm foundation and rebuild her life from the ground up. Recovery and sobriety wasn't easy. Lynn soon realized that with drugs and alcohol, she had been going for the 'easy answer'.

Inspired to help others avoid the trap she fell into, Lynn reached out to major news organizations. She appeared on MTV's True Life, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and many other television shows to talk about her experience with addiction and the damage it caused her mind and body. She testified before Congress and became a member of the Advisory Board at the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. Her book Rolling Away: My Agony with Ecstasy was published in 2005. Lynn corresponds with teens and young adults all over the world about substance abuse through her website and email, and these communications will form the basis for her next book, Dear Addict. She has told her story to thousands of students at high schools and colleges all across the country in personal appearances that draw rave reviews.

Bring Lynn Marie Smith to your campus. She'll convey the reality and consequences of substance abuse and remind people that they are stronger than they think; remind people that they have wings; remind people that they can fly.