Event Details
After 9 years of sobriety, Rob Coughlin left The Gambia with his wife and son, only to pick up a drink again.
Nothing prepared him for the consequences.
He spent 6 years on the streets of London, Nottingham and Derby, in doorways and car parks. Holborn police called him “a one man crime wave” when, in the depths of degradation and squalor, he shoplifted and robbed to survive, drinking himself into oblivion to escape the reality of losing his wife and son. He served 15 prison sentences, where he developed an addiction to the prescription medication, Subutex; spent numerous spells on psychiatric wards and in hospitals, and almost lost a leg.
Yet somehow he survived to tell the tale.
Rob is with us to talk about his journey, recounted in his second book, Tailspin.
–
Rob Coughlin was born and raised in London by Anglo Scottish parents. After leaving school, he worked in various jobs, despatch rider, betting shop manager, tax collector, H.G.V. driver and as a labourer for a tree surgeon, and a stonemason.
He then spent 6 years in The Gambia, which is recounted in his first book, Toubab.
He’s been sober for 12 years.
Related Events
