I had my first drink when I was 17. By the time I was 20, I was snorting crystal meth with my father in San Diego, Ca. At 29, I was divorced and a full blown alcoholic. By the time I was 37, I had 3 children and was out of control. At 39, I had been through a detox facility...

22 million people live with substance use disorder. 45 million people are impacted by addiction. I am 1 of the 45 million people affected by this disease. The disease of addiction is no one’s fault, but everyone's problem. Alcoholism was declared a disease in 1956. 61 years...

When we arrived at the hospital, I remember coming to, my bare chest exposed as I felt wires and tubes all over me. I remember the feeling when they pulled the gurney off the back of the ambulance and the wheels hitting the ground as they took off running with me. It felt so...

Let us start out by being honest – after all, it is one of the cornerstones of recovery, right? Okay, since we are being honest, let me just say that there are some people who aren’t supposed to be alcoholics. Yes, I realize that addiction does not discriminate and it affects...

I struggled with a severe poly-substance use disorder for over ten years. In my years trying to get clean, I was taught that I wouldn’t find sobriety unless I went to 12 Step Groups, got on medication assistance, and went to rehab. Those were the solutions I was given from...

My son, Carlos Castellanos, died at age 23 from a drug overdose, just three weeks after walking me down the aisle at my wedding. On that day, he was happy, healthy and loving life. He had a job and was expected to get a promotion the following month, loved his girlfriend dearly,...

I am a 51 year old recovering addict/alcoholic and my name is Tom. The fact that I am even alive to write this piece is a miracle in and of itself. It is the miracle of my higher power and my personal program of recovery. I was brutally raped and beaten when I was nine years old...

My name is Caroline and I am a woman in recovery. I can say this today with a sense of joy and gratitude and wonderment. My life has transformed – is transformed; every day I get to walk in the light of a renewed life. My past has been redeemed and when I think about my future I...

My name is Brooke M. Feldman and I identify as a person in long-term recovery. What this means for me is that for close to 12 years, I have not turned to alcohol or other drugs as a coping mechanism for living life. Instead, as the result of having access to the resources and...