LISBURN MAN'S BOOK TELLS OF JOURNEY FROM DEPENDENCE

by NEIL GREENLEES

Jackie Burke with his book No Deal. US4107-552C0	The cover of Jackie Burke's book.

A LISBURN man whose addiction to drugs almost proved fatal has written a book about how he escaped the hell of substance dependence to devote his life to helping others beat this modern day scourge.

'No Deals - An Addict's Journey to Freedom' by Jackie Burke was written with the help of Dundalk based journalist Brenda Woods.

It takes the reader on a journey which begins in a loving family home in Tonagh and finishes in an equally loving home at Maze Park in Old Warren.

Journey

The outward leg of this journey, which involved a number of spells in prison, begins with Jackie's birth in 1953 and ends in 1994 in his mother's bungalow when barbiturate poisoning caused his legs to buckle beneath him.

Jackie knew at this point his life was hanging in the balance and he needed to get to hospital to be cleaned out by a saline drip. But instead of calling an ambulance he crawled into the living room and lay on a sofa.

He became convinced he was in the presence of Jesus who 'turned the pages of his memory' to let him see how often in his life he had called on God for help.

At this stage Jackie asked God to heal him and tried to make a deal.

"But I realised that God did not make deals. There could be no deals," he wrote.

At half past five that morning the presence of God left me. I had abandoned all hope. I just sat down and wept for the next hour and 20 minutes.

"I knew I had missed an opportunity I was certain would never come again.

"I knew for the first time, for the only time in my life there was no point in ever again calling out 'God help me' because he may not listen to me."

By this stage Jackie was crawling around the floor and the drugs had ensured the only parts of his body working were his elbows.

He pulled himself across the carpet with the intention of calling an ambulance but before he could do so the telephone rang.....

Jackie's parents Susan and John.	Jackie in Tonagh in 1967.

God

This proved to be a truly life changing call which many people would say confirms the authenticity of the old saying 'God works in mysterious ways his wonders to perform'.

Suffice to say Jackie is now happily married to Hilary and the couple have three children - Rachel, Jonathan and Matthew.

Many teenagers have heard and been inspired by his story which is told very eloquently in his book. This also includes some nostalgic descriptions of Lisburn during Jackie's formative years.

'No Deals - An Addicts Journey to Freedom' is published by Poolbeg.

Ulster Star
19/10/2007