Rage. Peter Golenbock

Rage

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SPECIAL PRAISE FOR RAGE

“Bill Denehy has an amazing story to tell. Stop what you’re doing, start reading, and get ready for a life-changing experience.”

Pat Williams

Senior Vice President, Orlando Magic Author of Coach Wooden’s Greatest Secrets

“Rage by Bill Denehy and Peter Golenbock is must reading for anyone concerned about issues of addiction, and it has a special application in the world of professional sports. Crisply written, Denehy’s life story is an important one for us to share. Bill has opened his heart, and anyone who reads it will see the pain, tragedy, and ultimate triumph of this great person.”

Richard Lapchick

Founder of the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport

“I have been Bill’s sponsor for eighteen of his twenty-one years of continued sobriety. Through the loss of his parents and his pet dog Schmucko, times of anger and resentments, and concurrently, the loss of his eyesight, his commitment to sobriety has never wavered. His resolve to live life to the fullest is inspiring.”

Allan Webber

Retired Attorney, Orlando, Florida

“Bill Denehy is an interesting, complicated guy. His stories about his baseball days are utterly hysterical. His ability to treat and manage his drug abuse and alcoholism, as far as I’m concerned, puts him in the Hall of Fame. I really loved this book.”

Greg Boger, MD

Physician/Partner at Florida Otolaryngology Group

“Nobody could have built a college program the way Bill did at the University of Hartford. We could have been—should have been—perennial powers, if only he hadn’t been fired.”

Ted Lombardo

Central Recovery Press (CRP) is committed to publishing exceptional materials addressing addiction treatment, recovery, and behavioral healthcare topics, including original and quality books, audio/visual communications, and web-based new media. Through a diverse selection of titles, we seek to contribute a broad range of unique resources for professionals, recovering individuals and their families, and the general public.

For more information, visit www.centralrecoverypress.com.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.

Publisher: Central Recovery Press

3321 N. Buffalo Drive

Las Vegas, NV 89129

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ISBN-13: 978-1-937612-56-6 (e-book)

Publisher’s Note: This is a memoir, a work based on facts recorded to the best of the author’s memory. Central Recovery Press books represent the experiences and opinions of their authors only. Every effort has been made to ensure that events, institutions, and statistics presented in our books as facts are accurate and up-to-date. To protect their privacy, the names of some of the people, places, and institutions in this book have been changed.

Central Recovery Press makes no representations or warranties in relation to the medical information in this book. This book is not an alternative to medical advice from your doctor or other professional healthcare provider.

Cover design by David Hardy

Interior design and layout by Sara Streifel, Think Creative Design

Photo of Bill Denehy by Patrick M. Kittell. Used with permission.

Photo of Peter Golenbock by Wendy Grassi. Used with permission.

I’d like to dedicate this book to all the men and women in and out of recovery who still haven’t found the right solution to stay abstinent from alcohol and other drugs.

And to my three girls, Heather, Kristin, and Marilyn.

Bill Denehy

Here’s to my brother and sister, Robert and Wendy.

And to the other Golenbocks, Aunt Hazel and cousins Jeffrey, Susan, and Douglas.

Peter Golenbock

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

PART I My Years Before the Downward Spiral

ONE Childhood

TWO Lessons of Youth

THREE The Bumpy Road to the Pros

FOUR Superstar in the Making