Stories

I am proud of who I have become. I am proud of being an active member of society. I have a job now. I’ve served meals at the city mission as a reminder of where I don’t want to put myself again.

Anonymous
If I didn’t share my story for the next person who was walking in my shoes, people might forget to dream, to have hope, to have friends. I used to push everybody out. Now, I want those things.

Anonymous
My five-year-old son looked at me and said, “Mommy, you’re doing great. I’m proud of you.”

Anonymous
I just feel like anything you go through in addiction can be overcome with recovery. They always say that your best day in addiction is still worse than your worst day in recovery, because it’s still a bad day. And I had to forgive myself, I had to ask for forgiveness from others, but you can overcome it and everything does get better.

Brook
There’s not a magic number with recovery. Recovery’s a daily thing.

Cece
Life’s about love, and I feel like that’s what I’ve looked for my whole life. And I found it here.

Nicki May
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.
It is my personal mission to be a face, voice, and light of hope for recovery every day I am on this earth. What I have discovered from this journey of recovery is how to trust in my faith, love others, love myself, and be present in the moment.

Honesty Liller
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
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
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
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
We have to share our stories; even if it helps one, it’s worth it.

Paula Settle
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.
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.
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

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I am proud of who I have become. I am proud of being an active member of society. I have a job now. I’ve served meals at the city mission as a reminder of where I don’t want to put myself again.

If I didn’t share my story for the next person who was walking in my shoes, people might forget to dream, to have hope, to have friends. I used to push everybody out. Now, I want those things.

My five-year-old son looked at me and said, “Mommy, you’re doing great. I’m proud of you.”

There’s not a magic number with recovery. Recovery’s a daily thing.

Life’s about love, and I feel like that’s what I’ve looked for my whole life. And I found it here.

It is my personal mission to be a face, voice, and light of hope for recovery every day I am on this earth. What I have discovered from this journey of recovery is how to trust in my faith, love others, love myself, and be present in the moment.

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.

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.

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.

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.

We have to share our stories; even if it helps one, it’s worth it.

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.

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.

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."

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