Book review by Ian Murphy:
Once an Addict by Barry Woodward is an inspirational story of God’s transforming power. It tells of his 15-year heroin addiction before his conversion to Christianity.
Though he came from a fairly good background he was drawn into a world of drugs in 80’s Manchester. It is a vivid picture of a dark underworld – a daily struggle to feed his habit. Barry’s drug addiction takes him through spells in prison and psychiatric hospitals.
Like many a conversion, his story turns when all seems lost. In his early 30s he moves away from the city and is rehoused in Rochdale. He has split up with his long-term girlfriend, he’s still addicted to methadone, and on benefits – isolated in a new environment, a world away from his drug dealing days in Manchester. His life changes with a chance encounter on a bus. A man sits down beside him and Barry notices a borstal dot on his face (an old prison tattoo) and this gets him into a conversation. It transpires that this man attends a local church and a fellow worshipper is a neighbour of Barry’s. When he’s invited along, he has misgivings about attending a church full of “respectable” people (sound familiar?). In time, though, his life is transformed by worship, prayer and bible study. Listening to a cassette given to him by one of his new friends he has his moment of epiphany. He excitedly calls his pastor. “I’ve just found my calling – I want to be an evangelist!” His pastor replies calmly, “Let’s pray about it.”
After a couple of years at Cliff Bible College in Derbyshire, Barry leaves to set up his Proclaim Trust and to this day tours the world telling his inspirational story. It is a great testimony to God’s providential work in a most unlikely convert!