Almost eight months after the entire Nashoba student body heard and witnessed Chris Herren’s inspirational story, he was back, this time sharing his story with the community.

January 14, 7pm sharp, the auditorium was packed, the lights went down and the audience watched an introduction video summarizing Herren’s career and downfall. His message about drug and alcohol abuse started with his own story, experiencing with an assortment of drugs. When talking about his near death experience the room fell silent; the mood was somber and thoughtful.

At the end of his speech, Herren opened the floor for questions. Instead of questions, he got stories. Stories of recovery, stories of helplessness and terror… stories of death. The first to raise his hand was a middle aged man who told his journey; he had been sober and in recovery for almost 20 months. Another audience member told Herren about her daughter’s prevailing fight with alcoholism.

Rather than speaking “to students”and attempting to get through, as he did last May, Herren spoke with the community. He was interactive and although there was a representation of different age groups, Herren catered to everyone present. He said that those types of events were the hardest because his goal was to get through to students and advise parents while monitoring his speech for children.