“I was taught, if you do what you’re supposed to and look how you’re supposed to look, you can and ‘deserve’ to drink, smoke, and vandalize when people aren’t looking.”
‘What do you do for love? Have a baby! I was in the middle of drug deals, poisoning myself. It was a wake-up call.’: Woman details sobriety journey, ‘Obstacles gave me opportunities’
‘My 2-week-old infant in my arms, I discovered my husband was having an affair with a close friend. All I could mutter was, ‘I’m going to die,’ over and over again.’: Woman navigates marital infidelity, addiction, ‘I am living proof it gets better’
“I told my therapist, ‘We sit on opposite sofas in the living room, but I feel like we’re on opposite planets. There’s no intimacy, no passion.’ I chalked it up to being newlyweds while he battled multiple addictions behind closed doors. When I discovered the messages, I screenshotted them, planning to present them in divorce court.”
‘I sat on the floor, my head in a toilet. My sister said, ‘I’m not doing this anymore.’ My favorite person was done. That was enough for me.’: Woman details sobriety and mental health journey
“As a child, I was scared of everything. I felt on edge about everything. When the effects of cheap vodka flooded over me, all of my fears washed away. I finally felt like I was enough. I felt invincible, and I loved it.”
‘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.”
‘A car ran a red light and hit me. ‘Stop being dramatic and take a cab.’ I was DEVASTATED. I didn’t want to struggle or hurt anymore.’: Woman shares journey to sobriety, ‘I chose life’
“Alcohol was like a looming cloud. I chose alcohol over everything. I would mourn with alcohol, celebrate with alcohol, and survive with alcohol. I asked myself, ‘Do I want to spend my life mourning ghosts of a life lost, or actually live?’”
‘Starting tomorrow, I won’t use drugs.’ It was only a matter of hours before the loneliness crept in. I didn’t care if it killed me.’: Mom describes sobriety journey, ‘God met me right where I was’
“I found myself with two kids, multiple divorces, and a life in utter chaos. I still couldn’t see the problem was me. I’d promise I’d be back and never show up. My kids spent 3 years never knowing if I was coming home.”
‘I’m a bad mom.’ I got married when my daughter was 2 and I don’t remember it. There’s so much shame.’: Recovering alcoholic describes journey, ‘I want to set an example for my daughter’
“I’d delete pictures so there was no evidence. In tenth grade, I was kicked out of a private school. ‘I have bad days, I am HUMAN!'”
‘I have to report you to CPS.’ I was hysterical. All I could think of were police coming to rip my son away. I knew I needed help.’: Single mom shares sobriety journey, ‘You’re not your past’
“Both my grandparents died within 9 months. I showed up to both funerals buzzed. I felt so abandoned by everyone that alcohol became my best friend. It was there for me when I was sad, anxious, even happy. Alcohol was the answer to my problems.”
‘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.”
‘That’s enough to knock out a horse.’ I sobbed, begging the nurses for help. I can’t blame them. I was pregnant junkie.’: Woman recovers from drug addiction, ‘There’s always hope’
“Without the pills, I was sick. I couldn’t afford to be in withdrawals and take care of a baby. On my first Mother’s Day, I tried heroin. The emptiness I felt was unbearable. I had to fight for our lives.”
