EARLSTON Young is HIV positive and a recovering drug addict who has found God and turned his life around.

So passionately did he believe that the story of his life was a cautionary tale that could help young Bermudians to avoid falling into the same traps as he did, that he wrote down his memoirs during his lowest moments.

At the time, as he languished in Agape House, awake in the early hours and unable to sleep, he believed he was sure to die soon.

Mr. Young became addicted to heroin at the age of 16 and also became hooked on cocaine. He studied and passed two degrees in his early 20s and the world should have been his oyster. But his addiction to drugs wrecked the years that followed.

Now, with the help of MP and former educator Dale Butler and his writing group The Writers' Machine, Mr. Young's autobiography and poetry collection Fallen Angel has been published.

The 48-year-old construction worker believes he is blessed to be alive after he saw dozens of his former drug-taking friends succumb to the Aids virus over the years.

And bolstered by his spirtual awakening and the companionship and support of fellow members of the First Church of God, Mr. Young can look to the future in a positive frame of mind.

Reporter JONATHAN KENT and photographer ARTHUR BEAN caught up for a chat with one of Bermuda's newest and most remarkable authors.

Q: What is your book about?

A: It's an autobiography and it reflects on the ramifications of using drugs and how drugs destroyed my life. I believe it's a book the younger generation of Bermudians should read, so they know not to make the same mistakes as me.

The flip side of the experience is the spiritual side. I am a member of the First Church of God (in North Shore Road, Pembroke), where Bishop Vernon Lambe is in charge.

For me, finding Jesus Christ was a spiritual awakening that I know will be with me for the rest of my days.

I'm just proud of the fact I've been allowed to stay alive.

Q: When did you write the book?

A: When I was staying in Agape House, over two or three years.

Q: What inspired you to write it?

A: I wanted to let people know about the dangers of drugs.

In fact, the book was supposed to be an obituary. I really thought I was going to die back then. Most of it was written in the early hours of the morning when I couldn't sleep.

When I started going to the First Church of God some of the brothers there implored me to get it published. Then I was referred to Dale Butler and The Writers' Machine. Mr. Butler's a wonderful person and very professional.

Q: When did you first get involved with drugs?

A: I first got involved with heroin when I was 17, as a dare. A friend invited me to take drugs with him after work one day. I thought he was talking about marijuana. He said he didn't use marijuana, but he used heroin intravenously. I was only 17 and didn't want him to think I was a chump.

I didn't know about the dangers of drugs - I was just experimenting. That was it. From then on, I never returned to marijuana and it was a story of how drugs took my life away.

In my early 20s I went to college in Rhode Island and graduated and the world should have been at my fingertips. I was using drugs then, but I managed to get my associate degree in Special Education in 1979 and my bachelor of arts degree in political science and public administration in 1982. When I received my BA I was so high I dropped the diploma on the stage.

Q: How long were you using drugs?

A: I'm 48 now and I started using heroin when I was 16, so I was using them for about 30 years of my life.

They had a devastating effect. Using drugs intravenously with shared needles gave me a terminal illness, the HIV virus.

Q: When were you diagnosed as being HIV positive?

A: It was 16 or 17 years ago, in the early days of HIV. At the time I contracted it, they weren't even sure how it spread.

With the wonderful drugs they have now, I have been able to stay alive this long. And I know a lot of people who were not so fortunate.

I lost a lot of friends. At one point, it got so bad, I used to think of the hospital as a morgue.

A whole generation of intravenous drug users has been lost to the virus.

Q: How did you stop taking drugs?

A: A few years ago, my doctor told me I had to make a choice - whether to live or to die. If I carried on taking drugs I would die. She sent me to Turning Point for help.

She knew that I wasn't going to give up drugs myself, because of the withdrawal problems. And I can honestly say that if it wasn't for the methadone (a substance used to help wean heroin addicts off their habit) programme at Turning Point, I would probably never have stopped using heroin.

On the staff there was Veronica Outerbridge, who was an ordained minister. They talked about when the problem started, the reason it started and left the decision to me, whether I wanted to change. But Veronica helped me find my spiritual awakening.

I went to Turning Point seeking methadone and I found Jesus Christ.

I started going to the First Church of God in Angle Street, where there were meetings for people like ex-convicts and drug users who wanted to turn their lives over to God. When I look back on my life, I'd say that really was the turning point.

Q: How long have you been off drugs?

A: For about three years now, I've been heroin-free, methadone-free, cocaine-free, marijuana-free, alcohol-free, nicotine-free and Holy Ghost-full.

Q: What is the target readership for your book?

A: Every young person in Bermuda should read this book, in my opinion. Any person who is contemplating using drugs and anyone who knows someone who has died from Aids or who is suffering from it should read this.

When we were using drugs we didn't know anything about HIV. But the generations who do know about HIV are still using drugs intravenously.

If you have five junkies in a room sharing one needle, that is how Aids spreads so fast.

I lost more than 150 friends. At one stage I was going to a funeral once a week for two years. I couldn't get my suit cleaned because I was using it all the time.

It could easily have been me too, but by the grace of God I am still here and I believe it was to write Fallen Angel.

Q: Do you believe the drug problem in Bermuda is getting worse?

A: Yes, not only is it still expanding, but it crosses every boundary, rich and poor, black and white. There are drug addicts from Tucker's Town to Court Street.

It's such a deceitful thing, it lures you in and then you look around and say, 'How do I get out'?

Bermuda is going through a terrible time with drugs at the moment. People must not believe that marijuana is as harmless as some people say it is. It is dangerous because it puts you in the vicinity of other drugs and because of peer pressure a person can easily be influenced into using other drugs.

When I was growing up, there were not many places you could go for help with drugs. And people were reluctant to try and find help. Because of the closeness of everyone on the island, you did not want everyone to know you were a junkie. There was a stigma attached to it.

Now, things are much better. There are many more helping agencies who help people who use drugs or try to prevent people from taking them.

Like the Bible says, when I was a child, I thought as a child and acted as a child, but now I am a man, I can't continue to act like a child, I have to take on my manly roles and responsibilities. And there is nothing more ridiculous than taking drugs, whatever age you are.

Q: How were you able to fund your drug habit?

A: Because I was a professional person I was well paid. That gave me access to everything I needed.

Q: How did you feel when you first saw a copy of your book?

A: It was overwhelming. Mr. Butler invited me to La Trattoria with some of my close friends to discuss the book.

After the main course, Mr. Butler ordered dessert and the waiter returned with a big round cake with the words 'Fallen Angel' written on it.

Then he said, 'I have something for you from Federal Express, Mr. Young'.

I opened it up and saw three copies of Fallen Angel.

When I saw the book, it was just overwhelming. Praise God, I was beaming from ear to ear - and I stayed like that for about five days!

It was a wonderful feeling.

Then I received an award from The Writers' Machine called the Green Cherry Award. Mr. Butler said Bermuda cherries were green and some stayed on the tree, ripened and were eaten, others fell on the ground and rotted.

I am praying to God this one gets eaten.

Q: How is life for you now?

A: I am working full-time in the construction industry and my health is relatively good, though I'm still on a lot of medication.

God is my cornerstone. To sum up my spiritual awakening, at one stage I was afraid of death, but I'm not afraid of it any more. In fact, I fear nothing at this stage, not even HIV. I believe that God cures everything.

Q: Which people have helped you most through the difficult times?

A: I have to give a lot of credit to Dr. Cathryn Siddle and to the staff of the HIV Clinic and at Agape House. I didn't want to go to Agape House because of the stigma attached to it, but those people there helped to turn my life around.

Then I must say 'thank you' to Veronica Outerbridge and the staff at Turning Point and to Bishop Lambe and my First Church of God family. My life now feels totally complete.

Mr. Young's book will be officially launched on Wednesday, May 14, at the First Church of God, North Shore Road, Pembroke, between 5.30 p.m. and 7.30 p.m.