John Kiernan was born in New Rochelle, NY in 1955.  He grew up in the suburban New York City area.

A child of two alcoholics who divorced when he was one year old, his formative years were spent in the depths of his parents' alcoholism.

He became a compulsive overeater at an early age and at the age of 19, he found alcohol.  Unfortunately, the alcohol quickly took over and within a short time he was a full blown alcoholic -- and also back to being a practicing compulsive overeater.

In December 1980, John was admitted to an alcohol detox in Norwalk, CT at the weight of just under 300 pounds.  In a short time, he found recovery in the 12 Steps for his alcohol problem and later he found 12 Step recovery for his food addiction as well.

Since then, he has continually attended meetings in various 12 Step programs.  He has spoken at Conventions, and led Retreats across the U.S. and Canada.

After a number of years helping others within the rooms of three 12 Step programs, John decided to go back to school (Loyola Marymount) to become a practicing substance abuse counselor.

John then went to work at a well known substance abuse center in West Hollywood, where he manages a full caseload of patients.  John also sees patients one on one to help them navigate the early days of recovery.