Teacher Celebrates 15 Years Sober After 2009 Intervention

When loved ones confronted Chris Boland about his drinking problem at age 34, his first emotion surprised everyone: relief.

The Scranton teacher and basketball coach had been spiraling for years. What started as normalized college drinking at Villanova University had grown into something he couldn't control, costing him a finance job and leading to legal troubles.

After moving to New York City with his girlfriend Kelly, now his wife, things got worse. "I didn't have a connection to the community," Boland recalls. "It really put gasoline on my problem."

Behind the scenes, Kelly was working with his family. On November 16, 2009, they gathered in his parents' living room for an intervention. "I thought, 'I'm glad you guys are making the call,' because I was incapable of it," Boland says.

He checked into Geisinger Marworth, a treatment center near Scranton where a family member had previously received care. From day one, staff welcomed him with zero judgment, making him feel comfortable enough to heal.

Boland spent 28 days in treatment, calling the experience "great." The program combined group and individual counseling with family visits, giving him tools to maintain sobriety outside the structured environment.

"I went into Marworth with no tools in my tool belt," he says. "When I left, like Batman, I had all these tricks."

Sunny's Take

What makes Boland's story shine isn't just his recovery. It's what he's doing with it now.

Today, Boland works as alumni director at Geisinger College of Health Sciences and volunteers with Marworth. He's a married father living the life he once thought impossible. When strangers call asking for help, he answers with the same compassion he received years ago.

"I've never been part of anything where people are so welcoming and willing to help a stranger," he says. The recovery community gave him something rare: unconditional support from people who genuinely mean it when they say "I got your back."

His advice to anyone struggling? Trust the people who love you enough to speak up. "You can take your life back and be happy and healthy again," Boland says.

For someone who once couldn't imagine a night without drinking, Boland now helps others discover they can be who they're meant to be.