For nearly 10 years, when Dr. Grisel was younger, she was a daily drug user. She dropped out of school multiple times and was even homeless at one point.

Something one might read with surprise, especially knowing that today Dr. Grisel is an internationally recognized behavioral neuroscientist and a professor of psychology at Bucknell University, who joins us in this first episode in our series on addiction.

I always love having guests on the show who not only have professional knowledge of the topic being discussed, but who have also personally walked the path and therefore emotionally know what it’s like to have gone through it.

To me, Dr. Grisel isn’t just an incredible researcher, but also a role model for anyone out there reading this who might struggle with addiction — showing that your addiction doesn’t have to define you, and that your future might be filled with more potential than you might realize right now.