“I heard a knock on my door. I opened and saw a young policeman. He told me he had a phone number I needed to call. I quickly realized we had trouble. The officer claimed he didn’t know what it was about (doubtful). I called the number – it was answered by a person at the Boise morgue.”
‘Do you have a son in Idaho?’ I instantly knew my son was gone. He took his life after a silly argument.’: Father says son’s death by suicide feels ‘unreal’ after his struggle with mental illness, alcohol and substance abuse
‘I’m Claire. I’m 90. I’m single. And I don’t need no man! Mic drop.’: 90-year-old woman hilariously praises ‘hubby-free’ life, claims it’s ‘the secret to living long’
“I’m a prune, I know. But a living prune nonetheless! I don’t have Alzheimer’s. I don’t use a cane. Yes, I remember what I ate for dinner 3 nights ago. And I don’t have a husband! No, he didn’t die off on me. I didn’t outlive him. He never existed! I’m convinced these leafy greens aren’t the only reason I’m been alive and truckin’ this long!”
‘I was dating a guy. He ended it. He didn’t see a future because, ‘while he was partying, I’d just stand there.’: Woman recalls the perks of dating sober, says ‘you value yourself,’ learn this ‘awesome thing’ called ‘standards’
“I used to consider going to the bar and getting hammered a ‘date.’ It’s nice to learn about a person and actually remember it now, rather than waking up the next morning and thinking, ‘Wow, this guy drinks as much as me – so I know he won’t judge me. He’s a keeper.’”
‘I’m too scared to go back,’ I told my mom. His voice paralyzed me. I lived in fear he’d kill my mother.’: 23-year-old adopted by stepfather who ‘never ceased to fight’ for her during childhood trauma with biological dad
“I lived in 2 different worlds. Five days a week I was in a picture-perfect home with a beautiful stay-at-home mom. But the remaining 2 days, I was in survival mode. I remember watching the clock tick by, counting down the time I had left in my safe haven before I’d have to get in the car and enter my second world. My biological dad had trained me well, so I kept his secrets. I’d stare at the window in my bedroom, hands on the frame, trying to build enough courage to slip out of it and run.”
‘I lost my baby brother to an overdose. My best friend, my 6-foot, green eyed, blonde haired brother.’: Sister describes agony of losing her ‘best friend’ brother after he was sober for a year, ‘I’d give anything to have him back’
“My brother knew he had a problem. He hated it. He hated it so much he stopped it all and moved back home right beside my mom. He told her he wanted to be closer to his family. That he felt so lost without us. He had such a big, kind heart. SO forgiving. Too forgiving. A month before he overdosed, he was baptized. He died with his Bible open right next to him.”
‘I clung to his casket, stroking his cold cheeks. My entire world lay there, lifeless, nothing but a shell.’: Woman loses grandma to lung cancer, then loses mom and brother to addiction shortly after
“I noticed my brother kept ‘falling asleep’ while talking to me. He tried to explain it away, but I knew he was lying. ‘You’re nodding out, James. Are you high?’ He finally put his head in his hands and started to cry, shaking his head yes. ‘I learned how to shoot up.’ I was devastated. Now, I must listen to his playlist to feel closer to him. My baby brother is gone.”
‘Yes, Lizzie. It’s true.’ I fell to the floor, grabbing at the carpet. ‘My brother is dead,’ I screamed through loud sobs.’: Woman loses little brother to Fentanyl-Laced Heroin on Christmas day, now uses grief to ‘create change’
“It was Christmas Day. A friend of mine randomly sent me this message: ‘I’m so sorry to hear about Randy. God Bless you guys.’ I had no clue what he was talking about. I quickly went to my brother’s Facebook page and saw ‘RIP’ and ‘Rest Easy’ over and over again. I found out my brother was dead from a Facebook message.”
‘I found his gun while blacked out. I held it to my head, trying to pull the trigger. His roommate ripped it away.’: Woman’s life has changed ‘drastically’ since becoming sober, turned her ‘nightmare’ into a ‘blessing’
“I felt awful, like I had hundreds of other mornings. But this day, something was different. My friend told me a story of my actions. While blacked out, I ran behind the bar where my ex worked. I started hitting him. Something in me snapped. THAT was my breaking point. It was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I was quiet for a moment, then I said with tears in my eyes, ‘That’s it. I’m done.’”
‘I remember the feeling of doom. ‘Welcome Class of 2011!’ I brought heroin to make it through the weekend.’: Addicted son gets sober on dad’s birthday, father says his sobriety was the ‘best present I ever gave him’
“My dad came home and went directly upstairs with cash he’d taken out of his bank account for Christmas gifts. I stood perfectly still downstairs listening to the creaky wooden floor while counting his footsteps as he entered his bedroom. I snuck into his room, retraced his footsteps, found the envelope, and stole the money he was going to use for Christmas. I was thrown out. All my bridges were burned.”
