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The Hardest Year of My Life Wasn’t the End of My Story

When people search my name online, they often see a version of me I’ve worked for years to outgrow. They see a headline. A mugshot. A criminal charge. They don’t see the years that came after, the ones I’ve spent rebuilding my life from the ground up.

My name is Wes Burgner. I was born Wesley Burgner, and I used to go by Wess. My story includes success, failure, addiction, and a level of regret most people cannot imagine. But it also includes grace, growth, and redemption.

For a long time, I was doing well. I had a strong career in hotel and restaurant management. I had a beautiful family. I had everything to lose, and in time, I would lose it.

In 2011, my wife and I experienced something no parent ever prepares for. We lost our infant son, Zane, just seven days after he was born. That grief did not break me all at once. It seeped into me slowly. I pushed it down and told myself I could carry it. But grief like that doesn’t stay buried. It becomes something else. For me, it became addiction.

I started drinking more. Then more. I told myself I was functioning. I showed up for work. I paid the bills. But inside, I was falling apart. By 2016, I couldn’t hide it anymore. My drinking had taken over, and I was losing everything—my job, my marriage, and worst of all, my sense of self.

The lowest point came when I was arrested for driving under the influence with my children in the car. That moment changed everything. I still carry the shame of that decision. But it was also the first step toward facing the truth.

But that wasn't the end of the damage my addiction caused.

In the deepest spiral of my alcoholism, in a moment I will regret for the rest of my life, I made a decision that shocked even me. I committed a bank robbery. I did not have a weapon, and no one was physically harmed, but the emotional harm and the consequences were very real. It wasn’t a hardened criminal act. It was a desperate cry from a man whose mind and soul were broken. That does not excuse it. I take full responsibility for what I did.

I was arrested. I was charged. I stood in front of a judge and faced what I had become. That day could have been the end of my story. For a lot of people, it would have been. But by some miracle, and with a lot of hard work, it became the beginning of something else.

I entered inpatient rehab and lived in a sober community for a year. I joined Alcoholics Anonymous and never looked back. I dedicated myself to making amends in every area of my life. Nearly a year into sobriety, I was accepted into the Fulton County Accountability Court program, where I became one of their top graduates. The program gave me structure, accountability, and a renewed sense of purpose.

Over time, judges, commissioners, and people who had once seen only my charges began to see my recovery. I received letters of praise, not because I asked for them, but because they saw how seriously I was taking my second chance.

Today, I am over seven years sober. I am a homeowner in Buckhead, Atlanta. I am a business owner, a college student at Georgia State University, and I am preparing to apply to law school. I am active in my community and involved in civic life. But more than anything, I am a father my daughters can count on.

My proudest accomplishment is The Artemis Council, a nonprofit I founded to support children of addicted parents. After everything I put my own kids through, I wanted to create something that could give other children the love and support mine deserved all along. We focus on breaking cycles, providing emotional support, and being a lifeline to kids who are trying to grow up in the chaos addiction creates.

I know that when people search “Wesley Burgner,” “Wess Burgner,” or “Wes Burgner,” they may still find that headline. And that’s okay. I am not hiding from my past. But I hope that right next to that article, they’ll see this story. I hope they see the recovery, the work, the service, and the life I live now.

I am not proud of everything I have done. But I am proud of who I am today. Redemption is not about forgetting the past. It is about owning it and choosing to live differently from this moment forward.

My story is not one of perfection. It is one of transformation. And if you are carrying shame or regret, I want you to know this:

You are not beyond saving.

You can begin again.

You can fall hard, and still rise.

I did. And I am still rising, one day at a time.

If you want to learn more, visit theartemiscouncil.org or follow my story at wessburgner.com.

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Redemption Isn't Loud — It's Daily

There was a time in my life when all anyone saw was my worst day. But the past few years have been about something different: daily choices, quiet rebuilding, and living with intention.

I’m a father. A psychology student. A nonprofit founder. And I’m several years into sobriety. I don’t pretend to erase what happened. I work every day to prove that people can change.

I founded The Artemis Council to help children of addicted parents — because I’ve seen the damage addiction causes firsthand, and I want to be part of the healing.

This is me now. Not perfect. But present. And better.

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