A Fife man who turned his life around after kicking a seven-year drug habit is hoping his story will inspire others.
Paul Boggie went from heroin to hero as he sought counselling before joining the Scots Guards.
Now the 42-year-old has written a book documenting his journey and will visit Perth Prison on Monday as part of efforts to help others get off drugs.
Paul, from Ballingry, has been off heroin for 17 years and hopes his lived experience will help others realise they too can turn their lives around.
It comes following successful visits to other prisons, including Saughton Prison in Edinburgh.
What will his Perth Prison visit involve?
Paul will discuss his book, which details his recovery.
Published in June last year, Heroin to Hero tells of Paul’s life and drug addiction, which began when he was 18.
Paul said: “I was invited with my book to Perth Prison.
“I went to Saughton Prison in Edinburgh with my book and it went really well.
“The prison visit thing was never a plan from the start. I decided to publish my book and have all the proceeds go to homelessness in Scotland.
“Perth Prison emailed me to say ‘How would you feel about going into Perth?’ and I said ‘Yeah, I’m there’.
“I am 17 years off heroin now. When people hear my story, it does get the ‘wow’ factor.
“It’s to help people understand a bit more about addiction recovery and long-term recovery. People relapse and that is such a common occurrence across the world.”
‘I thought I was going to die’
Paul believes sharing lived experience is imperative in helping others address their drug addictions.
In tackling his own addiction, hearing from someone who had been where he had been was a significant turning point.
“I thought I was going to die because of my heroin addiction,” he said.
“Lived experience is what they need to focus on. One of my drug counsellors told me he did heroin for eight years and I said to him ‘How are you still alive?’ as I always thought heroin kills.
“I was hanging off his every word.”
Positive impact
Paul is already making a positive impact and people have come forward to tell him his story has inspired them to get off drugs.
And he hopes he can help more people to make positive changes.
“People are reaching out to me,” he said.
“I have had people telling me they have come off methadone after watching my videos.
“And I think that is amazing that they’ve achieved it and that I have helped them to do that.”
Paul’s book is available from Amazon.