When 71-year-old John Wayne Houston wakes up in his apartment in Renton, the first thing he does is say a prayer for his health and family. Then, looking up towards a nearby hill at the cemetery where both his parents rest, he says "Good morning," to them before starting his day working face-to-face with troubled youth as a counselor.

He's been sober for 21 years, but his life before then was one of hardship, heartbreak, and addiction, which had left him homeless on the streets of Bremerton at one point. Today, after graduating from Olympic College in 2008 and founding the Renton Youth Advocacy Center in 2013 to provide a safe space for young adults to find counseling, he's turning the darkness of his experiences into a guiding light.

Houston published his memoir "Return to Sunlight," ea

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