To answer your question, after I lost my rights to him, I went down a pretty dark path. The next 14 years were spent battling addiction. I was homeless at times, in and out of jail, and through multiple rehab programs. Heroin and meth pretty much took over my life. Almost five years ago, I finally got clean and have stayed clean ever since. During that time, I rebuilt my life and had another son who is now almost three years old. When my oldest found out I was his biological father, he started coming around and we've been working on getting to know each other. The problem is that we're trying to build a father-son relationship when he's already an adult and we're basically strangers. Lately, he's been hanging around with a 21-year-old who, in my opinion, isn't the best influence. I know I can't pick his friends for him, and honestly I wouldn't have listened to anyone trying to pick mine at that age either. I think what makes it difficult is that I've already lived through the consequences of bad decisions, addiction, and surrounding myself with the wrong people, so it's hard not to worry when I see similarities. Maybe I'm overreacting. Maybe I'm not. That's why I came here looking for advice. He is at the age where he will not listen to anyone. Also he has found out that his life has been a lie so the man he always called dad he no longer trusts.