“There was no intervention. No one said ‘We think you have a problem.’ There was no rock bottom. It was waking up one morning with my daughter asleep in my arms next to me and worrying about her future.”
‘She’d look back on her life and think SHE was the reason I drank. It was just too much.’: Mom details sobriety journey, daughter’s battle with Type 1 Diabetes
‘Can you quit drinking to support me?’ It felt so unfair. Why should I give up drinking when HE was the alcoholic?’: Mom celebrates 5 years sober, ‘I’m truly proud of the person I am today’
“I honestly had to think about it. I was devastated at the thought of divorce but the thought of a life without alcohol seemed unbearable.”
‘When people asked me for gift ideas, I’d smile and say, ‘Just wine and diapers!’ How else could I unwind? It never stopped at just one glass.’: Mom shares sobriety journey, ‘I’m a better mom’
“I entered the life-changing, magical world of motherhood. I had no clue what I was doing. Breastfeeding vs. formula feeding. Crib vs. co-sleeping. It felt like there was nothing we moms could ever agree on. Well, except for one thing… wine.”
‘That’s just the coke talking!’ I shook 5 Ambien into my hand. It had become a full-blown dragon.’: Former addict celebrates 20 years of sobriety. ‘I made the mess into a lesson’
“I didn’t think of prescription drugs as ‘drugs.’ I washed pills down with Amstel Light. I thought I was doing what I needed to do to sleep.”
‘Girls like her don’t come back from this.’ I left home when I was 15. I found my oblivion in the form of a needle. I always wanted MORE.’: Recovered addict shares sobriety journey, ‘I am FREE’
“I took my first drink when I was about 14 years old. For the first time, I felt okay. I needed more. On my fifteenth birthday, I took my first hit of acid. The probation officer told my parents, ‘She’ll be dead in a few years.’ My bottom was near.”
‘I’ll do it, but just this once.’ Famous last words. My body NEEDED them. I HAD to get high every 6 hours.’: Recovering addict shares sobriety journey, ‘All you have to do is SHOW UP’
“If I didn’t get high within an hour, I’d start throwing up. I’d sit in the bathroom for hours trying to hit. My veins were ruined. My probation officer was calling everyone I knew, threatening to send me to prison. I was at an all-time low.”
‘I couldn’t get ‘high enough’ anymore. I went from a meeting to my dealer. Then I almost died.’: Woman recounts sobriety journey, ‘I finally accepted help’
“I remember waking up the next morning ashamed. I panicked. I wasn’t ready to be done using yet.”
‘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’
“It’s strange how love works.”
‘My parents broke the news. ‘You were adopted at age 2.’ For the first time, I understood my parents had left me behind, forever.’: Adoptee overcomes addiction, ‘I needed to fall in love with myself again’
“I felt unloved. I tried to prove my worth and acted out to get attention from loved ones. At 14, I started experimenting with drugs. I continued on a rampage until I found heroin at age 15 with the help of an older boyfriend. ‘Please let me come home,’ I begged. I tried to stop many times. Then, one day, I found out I was pregnant. That little heartbeat was the sound of a chapter of my life closing forever.”
‘You’ll never get out of this hole. Just go back to your old friend, heroin.’ I spent the night in jail, tying bedsheets around my neck.’: Man who battled addiction 9 years now owner of state’s largest recovery center
“I put the sheet around my neck and waited. I just couldn’t let go. I could hear the voices in my head saying, ‘You can’t even do this right.’ When I was released from prison, my family wouldn’t take me in. After too many broken promises, they were done with me. I owed $33,000 in child support and $100,000 for my crimes. ‘You’re going to be okay.’ My prisonmates saved my life. They took me in when I was too far gone.”
