“Senior year of high school. I felt sick. It spiraled completely out of control. I’m sniffing heroin and smoking crack cocaine like it’s going to get me into Harvard or something. I looked at my father and told him, ‘I need help.’ My dad wanted nothing to do with me, he was done. That really hurt.”
‘I am meant to be a heroin addict forever.’ I truly believed it. ‘What happened to me?’ That damn needle.’: Woman overcomes opioid addiction, fulfills childhood dream of becoming pro wrestler, ‘I’m living my wildest dreams’
‘I loved my older cousin. At 8, I learned the only way to be friends with him was to have sex with him.’: Daughter and mother in addiction recovery together after years of childhood trauma, ‘If that isn’t wonderful, I don’t know what is’
“I remember the bright red carpet in his closet. This ongoing ‘event’ became our secret, I held onto this secret for close to 15 years. I never got over what happened to me, I stuffed it so far down. This has been the hardest thing I have ever done in my entire life. I finally surrendered. I had enough. I needed to give myself a chance to live.”
‘I was accused of murder. Twice.’: Mother of 6 recalls murder accusations brought against her after gaining custody of half-brother in wake of parent’s deaths
“My father signed over custody to me. The judge granted it one day before he died. We were settling into our new lives when I heard a knock at my door. A USPS worker handed me a certified envelope. I read the horrific accusations. Homicide. Someone is saying I murdered my father. Murdered. That I killed him. Me. His daughter. I hit my knees, sobbing, wanting to die. ‘This is it. I’m going to be arrested.’ I was petrified. What if someone actually believes this?”
‘What do you mean he’s dead?’ My phone was crooked on my shoulder as I paid the cashier. I didn’t utter those words. I screeched them.’: Woman loses brother to Fentanyl drug overdose
“It was the first time both of my boys were in school. I was having an epic mom celebration of going to Starbucks, the grocery store, and doing other errands in blissful peace. Then it happened. In the check-out line at the grocery store, I got a call telling me my brother was dead. I must’ve lost it when I hung up because an elderly man approached me. ‘Do you need help?’ I told him I needed my dead brother back. He prayed for me right there.”
‘Mom, we found the note you left. It hurt. Only because I wanted nothing more than the same.’: Daughter’s emotional goodbye to her addict mother, says she ‘never doubted your love for me’
“Growing up, we watched our mom struggle with her drug addiction. We were many times abandoned, left to fend for ourselves. But as a child, I didn’t see that. I saw a mom that made 4 different meals for dinner, a mom that rubbed our back and sang us ‘Delta Dawn’ when we couldn’t fall asleep. A mom that had no money, but dumpster-dived to find us the exact present we wanted for Christmas. She never was perfect, but she was my mom and I loved her.”
‘I smoked pot to get over my brother’s death. To put it mildly, it was torture.’: Man overcomes smoking addiction, claims that’s when ‘life truly began’
“I’ve heard many people say you don’t go through marijuana withdrawals. That’s ABSURD. I’d literally break into sweats at the sight of food and I would randomly barf every time I left town without weed. I mean, I wouldn’t dare bring weed to the airport, right? So, to make things better, I chose to not leave my house again! What an excellent idea, right? I truly thought it was the remedy to make things better. Quitting marijuana was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.”
‘Jack, you were a child. You don’t need to punish yourself.’ In that moment, everything changed.’: Child sexual abuse survivor battles OCD and addiction, woman’s compassion helps him heal
“‘Prepare for the worst. He’s not going to make it to the weekend.’ My mom was right. The next day, her friend walked in on me in the bathroom. I’d been washing my hands for 2 hours straight. They were cracked open, bleeding. ‘Can we talk?’ For the first time in my life, I opened up about my trauma. I spared no detail as I scoured my brain for buried memories. ‘You don’t need to live like this,’ she said. We both burst into tears.”
‘How did I end up here?!’ I awoke in jail to the sound of a cell door slamming, no idea what happened the night before.’: Man beats life-long addiction, says ‘as long as you’re still breathing’ there’s hope for recovery
“I lost everything. I stepped out of jail with a few one-dollar bills and 3 cigarettes. I was missing a shoe, had blood on my shirt, and one of my fingernails was completely ripped off. I had taser burns on my arm and chest, and zero memory of my arrest. I faced the biggest decision of my life. I had to fight.”
‘I had a C-section. What comes with a major surgery? Pain meds do. The day after we came home, I went for a pain pill. They were gone. ALL OF THEM!’: Woman slides into deeper addiction at the hands of her boyfriend
“My ex-boyfriend walked back into my life. He didn’t look the same though. His big, strong build had dwindled down to a scrawny man. I could tell something was wrong. I went for it anyway. That turned out to be a decision I will not soon forget. It didn’t take long for me to become pregnant, with not one but TWO babies.”
