Addiction: Never Alone Blog

People ask me how I have stayed clean for over thirteen years. They expect there to be some secret. The truth is, there isn't one. Recovery is built one ordinary decision at a time. Many people think recovery is made up of huge, life-changing moments. While there are certainly moments that change everything, the truth is that recovery isn't sustained by those moments. It's built in the hundreds of ordinary decisions that no one else ever sees. There is one decision you must m

Let that title sink in for a moment: The Life Beyond the Miracle. If you have even 24 hours clean, you are a miracle. The most natural thing for an addict to do is use. So when we find the courage to go against what once felt normal and choose to live life on life's terms by doing the next right thing, that is a miracle. Notice how I said we. That's because none of us gets clean alone. We need each other. We need people who understand our struggles, our fears, and our victori

I never wanted another way to live because I didn’t know it was possible. I never wanted to believe there was someone out there I could trust. I never wanted close friends because I thought people would only hurt me. I never wanted to be honest because honesty meant looking at my soul and facing the damage I had done. I never wanted a real relationship because that meant being vulnerable, and vulnerability felt dangerous. I never wanted to ask for help because I believed I ha