Sentenced to a Life of Recovery: How Jesus Helped Me Escape from Alcatraz in Shackles and the Rest of the Prisons in My Life

By Michael Patrick Murtaugh, Connor Patrick Murtaugh and Stacey Murtaugh

Michael Patrick Murtaugh has been sober for more than thirteen years.
After so much time working on himself, reflecting on where his life went wrong, and sharing his story with thousands of people across the country, the now founder and pastor of Life Recovery Church wanted to share his message of Jesus with a larger audience.
In this book, he recalls the abuse he suffered growing up, multiple stints of homelessness, his service in the Army and what led to his honorable discharge, and the addiction that overtook his life from an early age.
By the time he was forty-five, he’d been jailed seven times, and he knew something needed to change. It did when he checked himself into Calvary Addiction Recovery Center in 2010.
Early on in his recovery, he realized that his story could make an impact on those who still struggle with pain, resentment, and addiction. That was all the motivation he needed to share the message of how he conquered his demons.
Learn how Jesus Christ helped the author change his life forever and fueled him with an unstoppable energy to help others in Sentenced to a Life of Recovery.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Sep 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9798385007219

Michael Patrick Murtaugh

Michael Patrick Murtaugh was molested, given drugs, fed dog food, and ultimately fell into addiction, homelessness, and a life of crime. He was jailed seven times by the age of forty-five. He changed his life when he checked into Calvary Addiction Recovery Center in 2010. He is the founder and pastor of Life Recovery Church and has delivered numerous presentations to high schools, colleges, businesses, men’s groups, rehabilitation centers, prison ministry and other groups throughout the country.

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Copyright © 2023 Michael Patrick Murtaugh.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

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Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

All Scriptures are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved

ISBN: 979-8-3850-0722-6 (sc)

ISBN: 979-8-3850-0723-3 (hc)

ISBN: 979-8-3850-0721-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023917408

WestBow Press rev. date: 9/18/2023

Contents

Foreword 1

Foreword 2

Introduction: The Why

Chapter 1: The Beginning

Chapter 2: The Moral Warehouse—Both Good and Bad

Chapter 3: The Train Derailed

Chapter 4: The Hidden Functioning Addict

Chapter 5: The Day My Life Changed and the Countless Miracles God Provided

Chapter 6: In Closing

This book and all the good in it is

dedicated to so many people. It is impossible to list them all, but I will try.

I have to start with our creator God, our Savior, Jesus Christ, and GOD’s Holy Spirit that lives inside me, because without them, I don’t exist, nor could I sit here writing my story. They are at the very core of who I am.

Next we start the list of those who have helped shape me, supported me, and loved me in so many different ways during my life:

• Mom and Dad;

• My grandparents Grandmom and Grandpop, and Nanny and Poppy;

• My sisters and brother; Aunt May; my cousins; and aunts and uncles.

All the people I got to know from the following places:

• My Eleventh Street neighborhood friends;

• My Dad’s friends at Tuby’s and Shorty’s café, Henshaw’s Place, and the Young Men’s Club;

• The friends from our Jordan Park picnics;

• The Jordan Bulldog Football program;

• The Allentown Boys Club, Cleveland Elementary School, Central Middle School, Trexler Junior High School, William Allen High School, the US Army, and Richard and Vicki at the UPS Store;

• The PGA National Sheraton, Rotches Pork Packers, The Main Gate, the Allentown Blues Rugby Club, North County Roof Loaders, Cedar Beach, the Parkway, and the After 10;

• All my roommates;

• The friends in Carlsbad, and Oceanside, California; Yosemite Sam’s Carwash; and Smitty’s;

• The Blessings of Jean and the Kennedy Family;

• The Phoenician Resort, Orkin Pest Control, The Scottsdale Princess, Hyatt Regency Phoenix, LA Specialty, the Maverick Saloon and Grill, the Pointe South Mountain Resort, the Arizona Biltmore, Shamrock Foods, and the Four Seasons Scottsdale;

• Calvary Addiction Recovery Center and the countless meetings and counselors;

• All the places where I’ve been a speaker;

• Scottsdale Bible Church, Northridge Community Church, the Creek Patio Grill, Toastmasters, Mission Grove Church, Life Recovery Church;

• Ajla, Reina, Ellen, and Gary;

• And If I met you along my path, I love you and cherish that moment. I tried my best to make it feel like we knew each other forever;

• To my pets Stormy, Murty, Tyson, Murty #2, Cooper, Boomer, and Titan, thank you for loving me, and I’ll see you in heaven.

To close this dedication, I will honor the two rocks who stood by my side through thick and thin: my son, Connor Patrick Murtaugh, and my wife, Stacey Murtaugh. These two, no matter what, loved me through it. They had my back unconditionally. These two, hands down, are my best earthly friends and the best friends I could have ever asked for.

Foreword 1

CONNOR PATRICK MURTAUGH

Michael Murtaugh is a name that many know in our community, but few have been blessed to be part of his life as closely as I have. My name is Connor Murtaugh, and I am Michael Murtaugh’s son. I was born on August 29, 1995, to two beautiful, strong, loving, and extremely caring parents. My dad had a heart and sense of love for me that I always felt, and this I can remember for as long as I have been alive.

When I was two or three, I was astonished at how big my dad was. My father is close to six foot three inches and weighs 230 pounds. I always felt so safe and secure when he was around. I thought of my dad as a superhero who could defend and fight back against the evil villains I saw on cartoons at times. This is a feeling of safety that has never really faded or gone away, as I still get that sense of security around my father.

Growing up in Arizona meant we had a lot of sun, to say the least. My father introduced me to sports, and I was instantly hooked. Even though I was young, my parents saw my passion for competition. My father did not waste any time and quickly volunteered to coach countless seasons of sports. From indoor and outdoor soccer, baseball, basketball, and many park scrimmages in between, my dad was there. He had a way of not only teaching but encouraging me, which made learning not only comfortable but fun. This is something I am grateful for to this day.

My father has an extremely talented side when it comes to teaching, and I got to learn some of the greatest lessons in my life because of this. Growing up, nearly every season, no matter the sport, Dad was dearly loved and respected not only by me but the entire team. His energy is contagious and detectable as soon as he enters a room. It is a welcoming sense of joy and almost excitement that I continue to feel when I am with him.

Throughout my childhood, my dad was able to converse with almost anyone in a comfortable manner. I respected him so much for this, because of the countless times I saw him handle a wide variety of scenarios. Life brings problems; that is just how it goes. But I never remember my dad getting frustrated or upset at a challenge. He always went after things with a positive can-do and will-do attitude without letting those around him ever feel the pressure he faced. I admired this about him and wanted to mirror this as I grew.

Eating out together and getting some good, peaceful father-son time is a long-standing tradition we carry out to this day. I started going to Peter Piper Pizza with my dad as soon as I was allowed to eat pizza. This is where our true father and son inner fun competition was born. He and I played games together and competed to see who could get the highest score and rake in the most tickets. We always walked away with something pretty cool from the prize counter, and I still have a few of those toys lying around the house. My father and I frequented our favorite pizza spot so much that he and I made friends with management, who in return treated us like kings.

As I sit here and reminisce over all of the great memories I have shared and continue to create with my dad, something dawned on me: there really isn’t anyone like my dad. Actually, not even close, to be honest. He lives his life while always looking out for others. My father is not OK until he knows you’re OK. The love and energy that he instills naturally in others is almost impossible to find now. He generally wants what is best for others, even if he doesn’t know the person.

I have been blessed to be surrounded with this love and encouragement every second I get to spend with him. Some of my favorite memories are of our father and son trips that we took annually. I will never forget when we went to Hawaii and signed up for a swim with the sharks excursion. I was young, but at the time it sounded like a great idea!

We set sail from the north shore, and the ocean waves were so big—bigger than I had seen before. We arrived at the dive spot, and the captain started chumming the water. The sharks arrived quickly.

All the other kids on the boat were screaming and crying, saying they were not going to do this anymore. I was uneasy, as the cage we were supposed to enter looked rather insecure.

Dad looked at me and said, Son, you don’t have to go in if you don’t want to.

But as I mentioned before, when I am with him, I