"I had people promise me the moon, and as soon as they found out I had a felony, it was over."
It happened almost 20 years ago, but the disappointment in Rob Wickham's voice still sounds fresh from my end of the phone.
He [Rob] tells me he's looking out the window and counts the deer playing in his backyard. It's a rural, small-town life in Benzie County, Michigan, much different from his suburban Detroit upbringing. In his early 30s, Rob earned his HVAC certification. The first five years of that career were more discouraging than rewarding, but Rob slowly worked his way up. Soon he was living in Traverse City with his wife and daughter.
Then he got addicted to painkillers.
