Hello, my name is Richard and I just wanted to tell people that I will have four years of recovery in February. This past mounth, I just lost my Grandfather. It took a awhile to come around and talk to people. My father said at least I was sober when he past away and he got to see the new Grandson instead of the old one. My PaPa and I were very close; it was almost like losing my self esteam. I am so happy to know that he is finally not suffering anymore. I will always charish the memories that ...   read more »

I started using hard drugs at the age of 18. There was a short period when I had my son that I stopped using. However, by the age of 26 I was a hard core heroin user. I was on methadone for many years. During one of my overdoses while I was on all kinds of machines for two days keeping me alive, a doctor reached out to help me. For some reason, I listen to her and took her suggestions. I went to long-term treatment in a TC after going through detox and rehab. For a long time I did not see the li...   read more »

My drug use didn't begin until I was in my mid-twenties. Before that I drank quite a bit at parties and tried marijuana, but did not like it. I was in my twenties when I was introduced to cocaine. I was off and running. My cocaine use turned into dealing coke to support my habit. Then, I moved to Atlanta, where I had a well-paid position as a real estate paralegal. It was there, at the age of 30, that I was introduced to crystal meth. I had found my drug of choice. I had a new house...   read more »

My family drank, fought and drove drunk every weekend, at funerals and during all the holidays. It was the same thing over and over. Growing up, I believed every family drank like this, drinking was a normal part of life in my house and my mom's boyfriend's house. I always felt like I was looking in from the outside and never felt like I was part of anything. It was the early 1960's and I grew up with alot of prejudice. I was the only American Indian in Syracuse, NY, at the time. One morning, I ...   read more »

GRATITUDE I’m a 40 year old recovering addict. I took my first drink at age 11. From there, I progressed to pot, LSD, coke, pills, heroin and methadone. I "breezed through" life as a functioning addict until I tried heroin at age 30. The last 10 years had been a seemingly never-ending, descending spiral. I’m "terminally unique," of course. I was "too far gone," "beyond repair" and the "exception to the rule" as far as addiction treatment was concerned. I had too many issues not related...   read more »

I am a survivor of domestic violence. My spouse was a drug addict and an alcoholic. My turning point was on November 22, 1992, when my husband kicked in my door and held me and my three children hostage. We were seperated at the time and I was fearful of filing for divorce due to his threats to kill me. In the past he had broken my jaw, my ribs and put me in the hospital numerous times with a concussion. The hostage ordeal lasted from 2:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. that same morning. It was tr...   read more »