Homeless Is Not Hopeless

John Fritz became homeless at age 16. He quit school and became a tramp hitchhiking back and forth across the country. He tried many times to quit drinking and settle down, but he failed each time. His lifestyle resulted in twelve DWI’s, and he was checked into treatment centers sixteen times for chemical dependency. He accumulated time in various jails totaling four years of his life, and he spent another four years in the Minnesota penitentiary system. Then he was diagnosed with mental illness. Despite all these stigmas, John somehow turned his life around. His story is laced with funny experiences, colorful characters riding freight trains, and close encounters with death. He was touched by the kindness of strangers again and again. John has an excellent memory and is a natural storyteller. After all of his failures and the things he’s been through, readers will be surprised to learn in the final chapter, “Recovery,” how John is now living his life.