Life is Beautiful by Sixx:A.M.

Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe is an interesting dude. Sure, a lot of 1980s hair metal/glam rock guys can say they partied to excess with women, booze, and drugs. Not many of them can say they died. If they died, they aren't saying anything anymore, because... yeah. Sixx can, because he died of a heroin overdose, but was resuscitated. So, did he actually die, or... was he just really close? I dunno. I'm not a doctor. I'm just over here spinning records. But I do know that Sixx took it a lot further than his contemporaries. And, ten years later, he wrote a book about it called The Heroin Diaries.

In the following decade, Nikki Sixx made a band, Sixx:A.M., with himself, of course, and two guys who toured with Crüe; IIRC their initials are A and M, not sure if that's first or last, but, that's how the band was named. And, a decade after the book, the band released their debut album, The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack. The album was a companion piece to the book. I've tried reading the book, but nonfiction really isn't my jam. (Currently working my way through the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, so if I come across sounding like Mordecai... well, that's probably why.) Though the book didn't click with me, I was a big fan of the album when it came out. Mostly because... as you can guess... I heard this song in Rockband. As a song, it's absolutely worth listening to, and it's one of my favourites, and it's fun to sing as well. The album in its entirety though, is something else. The best tracks don't stand on their own very well, but are essential to the album, like the intro (Xmas in Hell), and the song about when he quit heroin for good and the two weeks or so without it (Girl With the Golden Eyes).

After The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack, Sixx:A.M. went on to be just a normal hard rock band. They released some good stuff, but they didn't really talk much about addiction, to the best of my recollection. They may have, I dunno, but it was no longer the focus.

That all changed in 2020 with Maybe it's Time, when they got up with half a dozen other bands and rock stars, and wrote a song about getting clean, and made it a fundraiser. This may be their best song, but my pick is still Life is Beautiful. It's absolutely worth mentioning and listening, so I'll link to it as well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9LKBhktTAM

If the lesson here isn't obvious, it's that you can be defined by something bad. In the 1980s, Nikki Sixx was the bar by which every partying rock star was measured. Then he was the guy who cheated death and got a second chance. Now he's the guy who is helping others get clean. While you absolutely must take responsibility for your actions and choices, you don't have to be defined by your mistakes for the rest of your life. It can be anything, it doesn't have to be drugs. So if you feel you are defined by one big mistake... "maybe it's time" to move on.