Who am I? A woman. An activist, believer in women’s empowerment, Jamerican. Progressive. I’m also a two-time breast cancer survivor. That last one is the most important to me. I want people to know me as a survivor. The road from discovery to recovery for me was not easy, but...

For those of you that don't know my story, here is a glimpse of the hell I went through. It took me a long time just to see the light that was there all along. When I look back on my life, sometimes I get disappointed, sometimes I laugh, sometimes I cry. I was an award-winning...

I have a soulful, creative, loving, beautiful and kind 19 year old daughter. She is still alive, still in recovery, and still in treatment—her fifth one since she was 15. Any parent who has been through this knows the silent pain we face and can only image the silent pain our...

My name is Randy Anderson and I’m a person in long term recovery. What that means to me is I haven’t had to use drugs or alcohol or any mind or mood altering substance since January 9, 2005. Because of my recovery I’m able to be a husband, a son, an uncle, a brother. I’m able to...

I got drunk for the first time at age 13 at a teenage drinking party in Avalon, NJ. There was a large punch bowl filled with grain alcohol jungle juice and I was eager to try alcohol, as it was a constant in our household growing up. I wanted to be cool and fit in – feel a part...

I had a privileged upbringing and was blessed to have access to plentiful resources and opportunities as a child and young adult. I have always been an overachiever—achievement and validation were my first addictions, and my entire sense of self was built on my accomplishments....

March 6, 2009. Eight years ago. I finally had enough. I finally decided that the life that I was living was not the one I wanted. So what did I do? I asked for help. I surrendered. I listened when I didn’t want to. I followed suggestions that I didn’t want to. I showed up when I...

I still remember the first time I ever felt truly free. I was 16, going to the South Florida Fair in my friend Chris’ busted down broham. We were listening to OutKast’s Aquemini and he handed me a blunt. As I smoked, all the worry and concern I had experienced my entire life...

My name is Steph and I’m an addict. That’s how I introduce myself these days at 12-step meetings. It’s part of who I am, but let’s start with how I got here. I was born and raised in Elmwood Park, N.J., a small town near New York City. I have two younger brothers, and out of our...