Valedictorian, cheerleader, never had a drink in high school. A few years later, Ashly Guernaccini was taking the bar exam high on heroin.
In this episode of the Don't Do Nothing Podcast, Aaron and Brad sit down with Ashly Guernaccini, founder of At Cause Law in Clearwater, Florida, and co-founder of Non Stuffy Marketing with her husband Joe. Ashly shares how a sheltered small-town honors student went from college parties to psychedelics, cocaine, and eventually heroin, all while finishing law school and practicing as a criminal defense attorney. She talks openly about her bad experience with psychiatric prescriptions while trying to quit heroin, the day she was tackled in a CVS parking lot buying heroin from her own client, and how close she came to losing her law license for good.
Then comes the turnaround. Ashly explains how her mom found Narconon, what a drug-free detox and the Narconon sauna program were like for her, and the moment she knew she would never use again. She hasn't touched a drug since 2004. She also shares how the program led her to the Church of Scientology, why she stayed to work at Narconon for 10 years, how she met Joe, and how she bet her last $10,000 on starting her own law firm in the middle of COVID.
Let us know in the comments how did you like this episode and remember:
Don't do nothing.
In this episode:
- Why addiction can happen to anyone, even a straight-A valedictorian
- How experimenting in college escalated from alcohol to heroin
- Taking the bar exam while addicted to opiates
- What heroin withdrawal really feels like
- Her bad experience with Paxil and other psychiatric prescriptions
- Getting arrested buying heroin from her own client
- Civil vs. criminal law explained
- Inside a drug-free detox and the Narconon sauna program
- Taking responsibility instead of feeling powerless over drugs
- How Narconon led her to Scientology
- Moving to Clearwater and starting At Cause Law with her last $10,000
- Her favorite L. Ron Hubbard quotes and the book Science of Survival
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Time Stamps:
0:00 Intro
0:33 Who Is Ashly Guernaccini
1:57 Why Her Story Breaks the Addict Stereotype
5:25 Growing Up a Valedictorian in Steubenville, Ohio
11:40 From College Parties to Psychedelics
21:20 How Cocaine Opened the Door to Opiates
24:05 What Heroin Withdrawal Really Feels Like
28:35 Turning to Psychiatric Drugs to Quit Heroin
35:30 Her Experience on Paxil
45:55 Diagnosed Manic Depressive and More Prescriptions
53:55 From Snorting to Injecting Heroin
1:05:45 Arrested Buying Heroin From Her Own Client
1:12:45 Civil vs Criminal Law Explained
1:21:00 Rock Bottom and Her Law License on the Line
1:23:20 How Her Mom Found Narconon
1:28:55 Inside a Drug-Free Narconon Detox
1:37:15 The Narconon Sauna Program
1:45:10 Taking Responsibility: The Narconon Course Books
1:50:35 Graduating From Narconon
1:55:10 How Narconon Led Her to Scientology
2:00:45 Working 10 Years at Narconon and Getting Her License Back
2:05:55 Meeting Her Husband Joe
2:08:40 Moving to Clearwater and Passing the Florida Bar
2:16:50 Starting At Cause Law With Her Last $10,000
2:22:40 Favorite L. Ron Hubbard Quotes and Books
2:32:50 What Is Scientology in Ashly's Words
#dontdonothing #ashlyguernaccini #addictionrecovery
