He was just 19 when his life — and soul — nearly ended.

Steve Kang, once a promising college student from California, spiraled into addiction after his family lost everything during the 1998 Asian financial crisis. What began as a night of partying turned into a nightmare when he unknowingly smoked a deadly mix of heroin, cocaine, and PCP — a “death bowl.” For ten sleepless days, he says, his mind unraveled. “I didn’t get a second of sleep,” he recalled. “By the fifth day, I couldn’t tell if I was alive.”

In despair, Kang attempted to take his own life — but what he experienced next would change him forever. As doctors fought to save him, he says his spirit descended into hell: a barren, lifeless world filled with towering shadows and lost souls. “I knew I was going to be tortured,” he said. “There was no light, no hope, no escape.”

But as his mother prayed desperately for him to live, Kang heard a voice: “No more drugs… I love you.” When he awoke from surgery, doctors called his survival a miracle.

It took him ten years to recover — years haunted by nightmares — until, he says, a vision of heaven finally brought him peace. Today, at 47, Kang bears the scars of that night but now preaches hope to others.

“I went to hell,” he says quietly, “so I could help others find their way back.”