Josh’s greatest piece of luck came when he showed up at the home of Mike Chadwick, a businessman who lectured around the state on how he had beaten drugs and alcohol. Chadwick explained to Josh that he was in a life-and-death battle. Josh could either quit or die. Chadwick pointed out to Josh that he had advantages others like him did not. There was a group of good supportive people who cared about him and were not interested in baseball. This group eventually included Chadwick’s daughter, Katie, who had known Josh back in his high school days.
The relationship between Josh and Katie blossomed, and the two got married in the winter of '04. She had a daughter, Julia, from a previous marriage, and they decided to have a child of their own. Josh convinced Katie that he was clean, but soon he fell back into his old ways. Tony and Linda gave the couple the last $200,000 left from Josh’s bonus so they could buy a small house. Josh took the leftover cash and blew it on drugs.
Katie gave birth to a girl named Sierra in September of 2005. By then, Josh was smoking crack again. Katie had thrown him out of their house, and he had moved in with grandmother Mary. She was the only one left in the family willing to take him in.
On October 6, Josh vowed to give up drugs and alcohol. He had lost 50 pounds, and his complexion was ghostlike. Baseball was completely off his radar at this point. All that consumed Josh was his next high. Everything that was important to him was gone. He had hit rock bottom.