By Cathy Cassata 05/03/15 Saved by Dr. Drew

From incarcerated teen to accomplished therapist, Brandon Stogsdill credits education, God, and Dr. Drew for his turnaround. Conceived by rape, Brandon Stogsdill was raised by his mother who struggled with alcoholism, drug addiction and mental illness. “My dad was obviously never around and a lot of my childhood memories of my mom are her drunk, passed out and me wondering if she was dead,” says Stogsdill. 

As if that weren’t enough to bear, Stogsdill became the victim of molestation at the age of four. “I pretty much thought it was my fault, was ashamed of it, and kept it a secret,” he says.

Given the trauma Stogsdill endured, school was a challenge. “I was never really good at school. I was always a step behind and very anxious,” he says. “But my life was just my life. I didn’t know things were bad and that we were poor, even though we were on welfare, went to food banks, and stayed in shelters. I just thought it was the way things were.”

Stogsdill’s older sister looked out for him until she became pregnant at 16 and moved out. He continued to live with his mother and her various boyfriends until his mother went into a mental institution when Stogsdill was a sophomore in high school.

“Before this, I was just kind of moving along in life. Things started to change in 10th grade though. My mom left and my girlfriend broke my heart. I became suicidal and started picking fights with anybody, began robbing houses, driving around in stolen cars, selling drugs, and not caring about anything,” he says. “Then I messed with the wrong people who threatened to kill me so I got a .357 Magnum gun.”

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