Stories

There’s a lot of freedom in knowing that I can get up, function and get through my day without having to rely on having something or enough of something to be able to make it through the day. That, to me, is true freedom, and I am thankful for it every single day. We do recover.

Cassidy
The biggest thing that I've learned in my recovery is that everything I've done, the good, the bad, the ugly and the in-between, has got me where I'm at right now.

Bailey
I can say that my recovery family is amazing and very supportive. And I know that if I continue to do the next right thing, that’s the best thing I can do to build back the relationships that I damaged so much in the past.

Amber
Every day someone is at the point they are ready for help, and I want to be that person there to guide them, walk with them, hold their hand and be their shoulder—whatever they need, I want to be that in their life.

Lisa
I have so much freedom in my life today, and I'm genuinely happy. I'm able to be a mom. I'm able to be a friend. I'm able to be a girlfriend. I'm able to be a daughter, a sister, a niece, a granddaughter; I'm able to be all of those things today. And if it wasn't for God, and the fellowship of AA, and these steps and my sponsor and everything, I wouldn't have all of this.

Jessica S.
I don’t know where I’ll end up just yet, but I know it’s a good long-term goal to complete school and get my degree. The one person I got really close to in the program here showed me how important and valuable education is. It can be a tool to give back eventually, and the higher the degree I get, the more opportunities there will be to give back.

Anonymous
We have a lot of guys in this program, past and present, who have spent their whole lives watching people avoid them, myself included. But it’s all changed now. People want to be around us. People want to hear our stories. People want our help today.

Michael Robinette
I started out my recovery with service and carrying a message that an addict—any addict—can stop using drugs, can lose the desire to use, and find a new way to live. Today I’m really grateful for the opportunity to get to continue to carry that message into recovery homes: a light into darkness.

Jennie Hill
Just by having faith and putting my all into it and doing what is uncomfortable, I’ve been able to have a life where I can help others that are also going through the same struggles as I am and have a family, and actually love my life and be happy about it.

Anna Holley
I have true friends today, like genuine friends that love and care about me.

Megen
I am a grateful recovering alcoholic and addict. That is not my identity today. Today, I'm a father. Today, I’m a husband. Today, I'm able to be a son to my mother and my father. I get to live life in a way that I’ve never been able to experience before.

Joe Young
I hope that anybody listening that's still suffering—if you need anything, reach out to me. This is what keeps me sober is by helping other people. I cannot keep what I have if I don't give it away.

Bernard Slater Jr.
It’s not gonna be just the recovery people that fix this or just the lawmakers that fix this. We’re gonna have to do it together. Some walls need to come down on every side of things. And spark some compassion out there, amongst all of us, and listen to each other. And then, you know, I really think we’ll come out of this.

Shanna McClure
“Drink this,” she said, handing me a small plastic cup with red syrup. “It’s 30 ml, our starting dose.” That’s how my road to recovery began.

Aaron
The biggest thing I want to say to anyone is just don’t give up if you’ve got a loved one you’re trying to get into recovery. Just don’t give up. Love them. You may have to love them from a distance, but love them. And don’t be afraid to give them a little tough love.

Brian H.
It’s what I advise a lot of parents to do: it’s just the hardest thing that you can ever do—but if you want to save their lives it’s what you’ve got to do: it’s tough love.

Lori Meadows
I strongly feel that people in recovery are heroes, and Greg was my hero.

Denise Hanson
I think my place is in the meeting rooms. To hear somebody talk, to me, is to know that I'm not alone in this.

Kelly
We do a lot of writing in recovery. But it serves a very, very positive purpose. The power of the pen is unmatched, okay? There's just no way around that.

Ryan Elkins
God had healed me from this, and everything I’d tried, nothing amounted to that, and I was overwhelmed with the love and the grace that I had found in forgiveness.

Cory Sargent

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There’s a lot of freedom in knowing that I can get up, function and get through my day without having to rely on having something or enough of something to be able to make it through the day. That, to me, is true freedom, and I am thankful for it every single day. We do recover.

The biggest thing that I've learned in my recovery is that everything I've done, the good, the bad, the ugly and the in-between, has got me where I'm at right now.

I can say that my recovery family is amazing and very supportive. And I know that if I continue to do the next right thing, that’s the best thing I can do to build back the relationships that I damaged so much in the past.

Every day someone is at the point they are ready for help, and I want to be that person there to guide them, walk with them, hold their hand and be their shoulder—whatever they need, I want to be that in their life.

We have a lot of guys in this program, past and present, who have spent their whole lives watching people avoid them, myself included. But it’s all changed now. People want to be around us. People want to hear our stories. People want our help today.

Just by having faith and putting my all into it and doing what is uncomfortable, I’ve been able to have a life where I can help others that are also going through the same struggles as I am and have a family, and actually love my life and be happy about it.

I have true friends today, like genuine friends that love and care about me.

I am a grateful recovering alcoholic and addict. That is not my identity today. Today, I'm a father. Today, I’m a husband. Today, I'm able to be a son to my mother and my father. I get to live life in a way that I’ve never been able to experience before.

I hope that anybody listening that's still suffering—if you need anything, reach out to me. This is what keeps me sober is by helping other people. I cannot keep what I have if I don't give it away.

“Drink this,” she said, handing me a small plastic cup with red syrup. “It’s 30 ml, our starting dose.” That’s how my road to recovery began.

The biggest thing I want to say to anyone is just don’t give up if you’ve got a loved one you’re trying to get into recovery. Just don’t give up. Love them. You may have to love them from a distance, but love them. And don’t be afraid to give them a little tough love.

It’s what I advise a lot of parents to do: it’s just the hardest thing that you can ever do—but if you want to save their lives it’s what you’ve got to do: it’s tough love.

I strongly feel that people in recovery are heroes, and Greg was my hero.

I think my place is in the meeting rooms. To hear somebody talk, to me, is to know that I'm not alone in this.

We do a lot of writing in recovery. But it serves a very, very positive purpose. The power of the pen is unmatched, okay? There's just no way around that.

God had healed me from this, and everything I’d tried, nothing amounted to that, and I was overwhelmed with the love and the grace that I had found in forgiveness.

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