Dallas Bragg describes hitting bottom at 42: homeless, facing four felony drug charges, working as a server and sex worker while cycling through drug court, probation, and treatment. He passed the law school where he once worked as a marketing executive, wearing clothes from a thrift store that would later become part of his doctoral research.
And this is something I did, right? In the beginning, I was homeless. I was in drug treatment court. I was in rehab. I was on probation. I had 4 felony drug possession charges hanging over my head, and I was working as a server at a gross-ass taco place. This was right before I went into sex work too. I used my tips to rent an extended stay room at the most horrible place you could imagine. The door to this room didn't even shut all the way, right? But like, I would shut it and there was a gap So much that you could see in my room while you're passing. So anyway, I would get on the public bus at 6 AM and I'd begin my ride into downtown because I would have to go to the courthouse, pee in a cup, then I would have to ride back across town to treatment, and then I'd have to ride back across town to the taco place until 2 AM. Here I was at 42 years old living this existence. Every day I would have to walk past the law school where I was once employed as the marketing executive. Now homeless and penniless, the clothes on my back was from the Christian Mission free clothing store. The Christian Mission that was one of the 5 organizations I studied for my doctorate. I had to go back to as a client.
