Stories

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
I think it’s very important to start working with children at a young age and start addressing certain problems, especially with mental disorders and diseases. I suffered from them when I was a kid and didn’t get them addressed; they were kind of pushed to the side.

Anonymous
I guess the best thing I can do is lead by example. Keep changing for the better more and more every day, keep in contact with those people, and just try to lead by example, like I said, get them to make the right decisions, not because someone told them to but because they can see that there is a better way; that there is a light.

Bryce C.
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 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.
My stepmom said, last week, “If you get through this quarantine thing without using, I’m really gonna start thinking that you might not.” And I was like, “Don’t say that!” She was like, “I cannot believe all the things that you have endured.” There really have been a lot, but my life is so awesome. I’ve put in a lot of work. I’ve never stopped.

Rachel Thaxton
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
I don’t always get it right, but I stay vigilant and work a program and stay involved and help people. The message is hope, and the promise is freedom. And I truly believe that. Hope is the last thing to go.

Drew Pinkney
I have a compassion for these people that are struggling, all this generation, the kids. I just want to see them get better. If I can be a light, or be an encouragement, to them, I just want to see people get better.

Edna Gooch
Everything fits inside of my recovery because when I'm doing what's right in the recovery process, all of those things just flow. I'm a better employee, I'm a better father, I'm a better husband when my focus is on my relationship with God.

Terry Danielson
The spirituality part of it’s been the biggest impact in my life, finding my own higher power, and staying connected with people who are trying to do good in the world.

Heather Shaw
I love helping people and meeting people where they’re at, whether they’re ready to enter recovery, whether they’re thinking about it, or whether they want to do it right then.

Krista W.
What an honor it is to be able to say—and I tell my participants this all the time—I'm like: “I’m not going to tell you it ever gets easy, but it does get easier."

Charlotte
Life’s good, man. And I get to really be a part of it today, for the first time, and I’m not governed by this fear and anxiety.

Dano McCawley
The only barriers that I have are the ones that I put on myself. I’ve beaten so many statistics over my life and it’s all through grace.

Fran Gray
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
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
I never even imagined being married, but now I’m able to be a mom and be a wife and be a productive member of society and it’s because I was able to connect with people. I was able to build love for myself and experience things in a completely different reality than what I was before.

Hayley
Each year, I've shared my story with my students and will continue to do so. It's a sad reality, but many of them personally know someone in active addiction. When I disclose my experience to them, they now know someone in recovery.

Nick Roberts

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I think it’s very important to start working with children at a young age and start addressing certain problems, especially with mental disorders and diseases. I suffered from them when I was a kid and didn’t get them addressed; they were kind of pushed to the side.

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 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.

I don’t always get it right, but I stay vigilant and work a program and stay involved and help people. The message is hope, and the promise is freedom. And I truly believe that. Hope is the last thing to go.

I have a compassion for these people that are struggling, all this generation, the kids. I just want to see them get better. If I can be a light, or be an encouragement, to them, I just want to see people get better.

Everything fits inside of my recovery because when I'm doing what's right in the recovery process, all of those things just flow. I'm a better employee, I'm a better father, I'm a better husband when my focus is on my relationship with God.

The spirituality part of it’s been the biggest impact in my life, finding my own higher power, and staying connected with people who are trying to do good in the world.

I love helping people and meeting people where they’re at, whether they’re ready to enter recovery, whether they’re thinking about it, or whether they want to do it right then.

What an honor it is to be able to say—and I tell my participants this all the time—I'm like: “I’m not going to tell you it ever gets easy, but it does get easier."

Life’s good, man. And I get to really be a part of it today, for the first time, and I’m not governed by this fear and anxiety.

The only barriers that I have are the ones that I put on myself. I’ve beaten so many statistics over my life and it’s all through grace.

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.

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.

I never even imagined being married, but now I’m able to be a mom and be a wife and be a productive member of society and it’s because I was able to connect with people. I was able to build love for myself and experience things in a completely different reality than what I was before.

Each year, I've shared my story with my students and will continue to do so. It's a sad reality, but many of them personally know someone in active addiction. When I disclose my experience to them, they now know someone in recovery.

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