The unlikely beginning of a memoir on addiction and recovery

At a bar in Mexico City, Dartmouth’s Devin Corey found himself explaining his recently completed memoir manuscript to a lifelong friend and their colleague when a woman walks in appearing intoxicated and passes out on a sofa. 

As Corey continued through the details of his story battling addiction, “something clicked,” he said.

“I realized this woman was overdosing,” Corey said. He explained his intervention in the situation saved the woman's life as the emergency services there were not sure what was wrong.

“If it wasn't for my recovery and my checkered past, I wouldn't have had the ability to save that woman's life,” he said.

Following the events of the night, Corey reconnected with his friend and their colleague, who he had only met that day. He explained that he had seen his friend post on Instagram about being in the city, and after a decade of not seeing each other, Corey reached out to meet up. 

The friend and colleague, who work for the publishing company, Simon and Schuster, were amazed by what had happened, Corey said. The next day, the colleague contacted Corey and requested to read the manuscript. 

He told Corey it was his job to find the 1% that the company publishes and after page 20, he could not put the piece down. The colleague helped Corey through the editing process and was “instrumental” in helping him get published by Second To None Publishing.

The memoir, “Thomas,” follows Corey’s recovery and many “pivotal” moments throughout his life from his time getting wrapped up in an international drug cartel, his experiences trying to make it in Hollywood and the many hardships he faced throughout his addiction.

He said readers will also get to meet the many Thomas’s that have had “a profound effect on my life,” adding he looks to inspire readers and bring them hope with his story.

One Thomas, Tom, who readers will meet was the initial spark for the story, Corey said. Tom was Corey’s spiritual mentor and sponsor in recovery and died in September of 2021. 

A traveler, having been to 85 countries to date, Corey took off to try and make sense of Tom’s death. While on a safari in Africa, he said he realized how he could tell his own story through his death.

“[Tom] always told me that one day I would be able to tell my story,” Corey said, but there were many details of his life he had never shared before. “Through his death, he not only provided me the tools to live a happy, healthy, successful life in recovery, but little did I know that I would find the tools to tell my story.”

He said his recovery helped him become more comfortable with being vulnerable to strangers.

“When I entered the world of recovery, just over a decade ago, I learned that I needed to not only get honest with myself, but get honest with others if I was able to receive help, so that really provided me more of an ease to put the pen to paper,” he said.

Corey said transparency is important to him and the book was written so the readers could feel as if they were having a conversation with him. 

“I must express my deepest love and gratitude to my parents, Betsy and Brian,” Corey said. After years of suffering with MS, his father passed from cancer last October, but not before Corey had the chance to read his book to him in bed. 

Corey said it was an “honor” to have this opportunity as his father is one of his heroes, with parts of the book detailing his family and the values his father instilled in them.

“‘Thomas’ is about love,” he said. “It hopefully will inspire the reader to recognize the Thomases in their life and recognize them as champions of peace.”

He added, “I encourage the reader to reach out and ask for help. As scary as that may be because your wildest dreams are just around the corner.”

Corey said some names and sequences in the story have been changed for safety reasons. 

Corey will be at the Barnes and Noble in Dartmouth for an author event on Saturday, Sept. 14 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.