Leslie
Sober 8+ Years
By the age of 13 I was hateful, confused, angry, depressed, etc. and my soul was broken into what felt like a million pieces... addiction took me to places I thought I'd never go and Hope was the Salvation that brought me back to a life I learned to live. Today I share Hope... if you or someone you know is in the chaotic spiral of self destruction please know there's a way to turn from it and walk in the Light of a new way of life!
Hope is something lost when drowning in addiction, sharing hope with others means that there is Hope.
Michael
Sober 9+ Years
I am a Case Manager at MyHouse Matsu where I provide direct services to homeless and at risk of being homeless youth ages 14-24. I am a person in long term recovery. I got sober on April 20th, 2012. I had nothing. No hope, no hope for a future and my real friends. My life has completely changed. Since I’ve gotten sober I got married to Elisabeth Sisson, had 2 boys Benaiah and Liam Sisson and have a 3rd boy due in November. I became the co-owner of Newsense Music Entertainment along with my best friend Justin Pendergrass. You can expect 100% transparency and a professional relationship when working with me. I enjoy art. Creating it, listening to it and consuming it in any way. Music is the particular vehicle that I express myself artistically.
Anna
26+ years
My life before recovery can best be described as humiliating and degrading. All the proverbial lines in the sand that I had ever set for myself were obliterated by my need to escape the reality of my daily existence through drugs. I didn’t have a life, I had a daily need to figure out how to get more money to buy more drugs, no matter what. I couldn’t parent my children, I couldn’t manage my life, and I couldn’t stop. My head and heart were full of guilt and shame. I didn’t know how to live and couldn’t do enough to die. I knew I didn’t want to completely and permanently sink into the abyss and I knew I needed help. I wanted to be someone my children and parents could be proud of. I wanted to have a life with grace
and dignity. Recovery has provided the opportunity for my heart and soul to reawaken. It’s given me the chance to repair relationships, be the mother I wanted to be, and to have healthy and sustaining relationships with people who love me just the way I am. Through the process I’ve gotten to resolve the issues from my childhood, and make amends with my friends and family. Recovery has taught me to dream big and work hard for those goals. Developing a relationship with my sense of spirit and with a higher power has allowed me to give grace to others as grace has been granted to me. I know today that I am perfectly imperfect and I am grateful that I’m not greater than or less than anyone. I’ve learned the hard way that complacency is the enemy of my recovery. When left unchecked, my addiction manifests in a variety of unhealthy ways. I still need to maintain holistic balance and remain teachable in order for my recovery to continue. I rely on my hard core four to help me see my blind spots and to walk me through my life on its own terms. Staying curious about myself and the world helps me keep a sense of awe and wonder.
If you’ve ever wondered about the need to try recovery, give it a shot. Use the support that is so readily available if you’re willing to try a new way of life. Recovery isn’t about just stopping using alcohol or other drugs, it’s really about creating a life you don’t need to escape from. The life I have today in recovery exceeds all my hopes and dreams.
Sasha
14+ years
Hellurr! My name is Sasha and I have not found it necessary to pick up a mood- or mind-altering substance since 10-11-07! In just two pictures LeeAnna has captured what active addiction and recovery feel like daily. My story is no different than any you have already read just the players and playgrounds in active addiction have changed; the players and playgrounds in recovery maintain consistent and filled with hope and encouragement. What I want to share with you is the feelings those situations produced. It’s the feelings that kept me in active addiction for longer and the feelings that created enough desperation to choose recovery. I had several defects before I ever picked up drugs, drugs were my solution, the one thing that numbed me enough to forget. I chose drugs and gave up family, love, self-respect, purpose, and dignity. Recovery has afforded me all of that and more, I have learned that I wasn’t just numbing pain I was numbing the love my family was trying their hardest to show me, but I had already given up on myself. Today I believe in me because I watch countless others live a life of recovery and believe in themselves. Today there are moments that are filled with sorrow, pain, and sadness but the other side, the side is moments filled with joy, happiness, gratitude, and love. Life did not change, I changed as a result of recovery. We need the black and white, we need the color, we need each other! There is no shame in addiction and no shame in recovery, there is only lessons and experience that make your story and foundation that much stronger. We choose to be here for you and yours whenever needed, recovery encompasses so many things and you have it in you to begin or continue that journey through whichever pathway works for you; just remember you don’t have to do it alone! Look around you right now at all the people, pictures, diversity, and connection recovery brings. Wanna talk more find our Facebook page full of encouragement and pathways to recovery! Peer Support Network Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/581474548713208/ You can also add me and connect!