2006, Hank Jones introducing:
“…Next is a young pianist…you’re going to hear a lot more from (him) in the coming years and his name is Mr. Austin Peralta…”
Austin was just 15 years old at the time. A star, becoming a legend in his own time…
Fast forward to 2012, Austin, a man who had a golden future ahead of him, so, so, so much work to get to the point of such acclaim: dead.
October 25, 1990 – November 21, 2012
Wikipedia:
“Peralta died on November 21, 2012, at the age of 22. The LA County Coroner’s Report indicated the most likely cause of death was viral pneumonia aggravated by a combination of alcohol and drugs.”
Don’t judge, please don’t judge! I don’t know Austin’s story but I do know that addiction is an illness, that it’s not a matter of morality, that it’s not a reflection of weak character, it’s an illness and only if we remember that will we start to see a dilution of the stigma, the stigma which reinforces the sense of shame, which acts as a road block between the sufferer and the help that he/she so desperately needs!
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