After touring for Echo, Petty rekindled with Dana York. They had met previously while they were both married to other people but ended up reconnecting during Petty’s time of struggle. He was still facing his addiction but extremely ashamed of it so he hid it from York for a time. Petty felt he really connected with her and that she was the light at the end of the tunnel for him. He didn’t want to risk losing the connection he formed with her because of his addiction.
Eventually as any addiction does, it came to surface and surprisingly York did the exact opposite of what Petty thought would happen. She had previous experience in dealing with addiction because her father was an addict. She encouraged him to get clean so that he could get back to the life that he once loved. Through his hospitalization in hopes of getting clean, York stood by him and waited for him to get healthy again. Petty credits York for saving him from his depression and addiction. After recovery, he managed to work on his relationship with his daughters, getting it back to as good as it had once been. In 2001 he married the woman that brought him back to life, Dana York and he was clean. He was ready to get back to doing what he loved most.
Petty still gives praise to his wife for being his savior during the dark times he was facing. York was able to give Petty motivation to not only get better but to be better in general. Thus, not only saving himself but saving his career as well. There were days that Petty wouldn’t even wanted to listen to his own music for fear that it was made poorly because of his addiction. York encouraged otherwise and she pushed him like he had done throughout his whole life.