“It’s strange how love works.”
‘We caught each other’s eye on the way to addiction recovery. Two hopeless addicts, from completely different sides of the world.’: Couple beat addiction together, ‘There is always hope’
‘Dad repeated, ‘I put it in his hands!’ How could he have given his son lethal narcotics? I was frozen in shock.’: Man recounts brother’s overdose, homophobia, ‘Learn from your hardships’
“My father would call me ‘sissy’ and ‘mama’s boy,’ and it hurt. A lot. Words like these never leave you. But it forced me to rise up.”
‘My two sisters went off to college, I went to prison. Contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t matter how you were raised.’: Recovered addict reminds us ‘addiction doesn’t discriminate’
“For every family member blaming themselves, racking their brain of where exactly it went wrong, beating themselves up, crying themselves to sleep, and thinking it was something they did…it’s not your fault. And it’s too heavy to carry.”
‘Your sister passed away.’ In a matter of years, I lost half my immediate family. This grief is not linear.’: Woman pens moving grief journey, ‘I live every day with authenticity’
“My cousin showed up at my house. Though her voice was calm when she arrived, I knew in that moment my sister was gone. Her death would be under investigation. She’d been struggling for months.”
‘Why are you making me do this?’ My 13-year-old son was helping me install a bathroom sink. ‘Did YOUR your dad make you do stuff like this?’: Dad vows ‘I will teach my son the things my father never did’
“I wasn’t sure how to answer. ‘When I was your age, my dad was in jail. I want to show you how to do the things my father never taught me.’ He thought about what I’d said, and then he asked a question I didn’t expect: ‘Will you show me how to use the caulk gun?'”
‘I was a teenager, blacking out multiple times a week. I heard voices in my head saying, ‘Just end it.’: Recovering alcoholic details sobriety journey, ‘You are NOT alone’
“I was young, outgoing, had a car, a job, and a boyfriend. But I blacked out often. The truth is, I was barely holding on.”
We Need To Love ALL Addicts The Same Way We Love Famous Ones
“Substance abuse isn’t just a celebrity problem.”
‘He leaned in for a hug. ‘Thank you. You saved me.’ He was refused rehab due to previous charges.’: Woman shares act of kindness for struggling addict, ‘There was no way I was giving up’
“One night, I noticed a young man who looked a little off standing outside on the patio. I approached him and introduced myself. I could tell something was wrong. After a while, he had spilled everything out to me. ‘I feel like I’m going to break down.’ He was refused rehab due to previous charges.”
‘I was shut upstairs, locked away. ‘There must be something wrong with me.’ Sex was learned from books. I felt unsafe.’: Woman leaves past life, walks 500 miles, ‘I let others love me’
“At 12, my grandmother looked me in the eye and said, ‘If you want to go to the gym, I’ll pay. I think you need it.’ I was the girl who drank 25 shots in a row and took her clothes off in a room full of people. I felt dead inside.”
‘I left my husband. This wasn’t the man I married at 24. In the emotional turmoil, we got pregnant again.’: Divorcee urges ‘your future is so much bigger than current circumstance’
“I accidentally found out about his secret relationship when inquiring about our wills. Dating someone behind my back is singlehandedly the best gift he’s ever given me. I’m not the person I was 6 months ago.”
