From Reel to Real

<p>Hollywood set designer Dwayne Higgins thought he had it all: a rewarding career in the film industry a beautiful girlfriend and a daughter on the way. He lived in a lavish home with two expensive cars in his driveway. Talented and charming Dwayne worked alongside Hollywood’s top celebrities and directors and attended glamorous parties at celebrity hotspots.</p><p>But beneath his veneered lifestyle Dwayne struggled with alcoholism and drug addiction which – in times of stress – threatened his career and his relationships with those he loved most. Dwayne faced two life-altering events within months of one another: the birth of his beloved daughter and a writers and actors strike that destabilized a career that took 15 years to build.</p><p>Being out of work for up to two years he reached for prescription pain pills cocaine and alcohol to cope Dwayne’s life began to spiral helplessly out of control. In a matter of a year he lost his young family his home and his celebrated career while a third drunk-driving charge led to his deportation. He arrived back in Canada with nothing but a bag of clothes.</p><p>Within two years Dwayne went from living the American dream in Los Angeles to a brief unsuccessful event-planning career in Bali Indonesia to the drug-infested back alleys of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside where three suicide attempts and heroin use left him reeling in hospital rooms. Eventually Dwayne would find solutions: he would find that someone who would help him confront his demons and a rehabilitation program that led to a moving reunion with his estranged daughter.</p><p>Surrendering to the inner voice that was there with him all along Dwayne Higgins would ultimately journey past success and failure toward a life filled with redemption love and hope.</p>