My Dash

For years, Jeffrey W. Baxter was the man people relied on.

A 21-year Air Force veteran, accomplished professional, husband, and father, Jeffrey had built a life that looked successful from the outside. But behind the career, the responsibilities, and the reputation, another battle was taking place—one his family could see long before he was willing to admit it.

Alcohol gradually took control.

What began as something Jeffrey believed he could manage became a cycle of denial, deception, consequences, and damage that reached far beyond himself. His addiction affected his marriage, his daughter, his home, his relationships, and the people who loved him most.

Then came surrender.

Entering treatment forced Jeffrey to confront something he had spent years avoiding: addiction did not care about his intelligence, military experience, accomplishments, or ability to solve problems. The first step toward recovery was not learning how to control everything.

It was finally admitting that he could not.

My Dash: The War I Fought After Retirement is Jeffrey's deeply personal account of addiction, family, treatment, surrender, sobriety, and the difficult work of rebuilding a life after everything he thought he could control began to fall apart.

It is also a story about the people who lived through the addiction alongside him.

Through Lisa's perspective, Jeffrey comes to understand the fear, exhaustion, isolation, and emotional burden his family carried while he remained trapped in denial. He begins to see that addiction was never contained within him—it entered the home and changed the people he loved.

This is not simply a story about losing control.

It is a story about finding the courage to face what happened, accept responsibility, and discover what can still be rebuilt.

Because between the date you are born and the date you die is your dash.

What happens in between is up to you.