From boardrooms to back alleys — and back again.
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From Addiction to Recovery
It is never too late to heal and find freedom.
A shocking chronicle that sheds light on this serial entrepreneur’s hidden struggles; a testament that even the most seemingly successful and invincible individuals can fall.
At the age of forty-eight he was at the pinnacle of his career, starting up what would become a billion-dollar enterprise. But an ill-advised experimental use of crack cocaine quickly morphed into a raging, hardcore, shooting-up junkie experience.
Lownds barely survived the full-blown, down-and-dirty, soul-destructing, and death-defying cornucopia of events that occurred in just 1,000 days. The twisted carnival ride of recovery that ensued took years longer. And as in much of life, this dramatic story is infused with tragedy and tempered by humor.
This is a cautionary tale: Addiction can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere, and anyhow.
Cracking Up is also the only addiction memoir based in the environs of Vancouver’s Downtown Lower East Side.
About Gordon Lownds
Visionary Entrepreneur Behind Some of Canada’s Most Recognized Retail
Gordon Lownds is a successful Canadian entrepreneur. He earned a BA in Philosophy from York University and an MBA from the University of Toronto. Lownds had a distinguished career in retailing and management consulting prior to establishing Kenrick Capital - a boutique investment banking firm – in 1988 in partnership with Stephen Gunn.
In 1994, Lownds co-founded Sleep Country Canada (with Stephen Gunn and Christine Magee) where he was CEO during its initial growth stages. Under his leadership, the company was named as one of the top fifty Best Managed Private Companies in Canada (in 1996, 1997, 1998) by Price Waterhouse. It was sold to Bain Capital in 1999. In 2003, Lownds co-founded ListenUP! Canada, a hearing healthcare chain that he grew to 120 locations and then sold to a European hearing aid manufacturer in 2012.