Ryan Dusick is the founding drummer of Maroon 5, an associate marriage and family therapist, coach, speaker, and author of the book “Harder to Breathe: A Memoir of Making Maroon 5, Losing It All, and Finding Recovery.” His life has been a winding road from aspiring pop star with anxiety, to heartbroken alcoholic, to thriving mental health survivor and messenger of hope in recovery.

Founding the group Kara’s Flowers in 1994 with best friends Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael, and Mickey Madden, Ryan and his bandmates worked tirelessly for a decade before the group changed its name to Maroon 5 and finally recorded its first multi-platinum album Songs About Jane. Multiple hit songs, two Grammy awards, and 20 million albums sold later, Ryan found himself suffering and without direction, when his career as a performer came to an end, just as it was taking off.

After years of struggling with physical and mental health challenges, Ryan finally overcame in 2016, when he began his journey of recovery, culminating in a new life path full of meaning, purpose and fulfillment. While adding a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Pepperdine University to his bachelor’s degree in English from UCLA, he decided it was time to write his story, in hopes of helping others who might see themselves in his personal struggles. Now working as a mental health professional and advocate, Ryan is spreading the message that recovery is possible, and some astounding things can come with it.