The first picture, I was in active alcohol addiction. I was drinking sometimes a whole fifth of liquor by myself a night, trying to numb my demons with what I thought took the pain away. I was just stumbling through the days so I could get to my next drink. I was careless, hurting myself and others in the process. Two years later god, the universe, whoever, blessed me with what I definitely needed.

Today I celebrate 5 years clean and sober. If life were fair, I’d be dead or in a prison cell... but God had another plan.

28 rehabs, multiple psych wards, 3 overdoses that left me comatose and on a ventilator to the point where my friends would visit to say their goodbyes, 13 arrests all over the country, felonies in 3 states, homelessness, and absolutely nobody in my life wanted anything to do with me. It was truly a miserable existence. God had another plan.

Where did it all go wrong? Raised well, great schools, safe neighborhoods, loving family, and a college athlete. “It’ll never happen to me!”... God had another plan.

10/15/2015 I turned it over and followed some simple suggestions after putting a gun in my mouth and crying like a baby because I didn’t have the balls to pull the trigger. I called the police on myself with every intention of being locked in a cage for a couple decades. God had another plan.

I ended up in a treatment center for the 28th time, and I had a realization that it’s now or never. I was in there when some other really cool people were in there, and they loved me until I could love myself. We started volunteering and being of service to others. I stayed in treatment for 9 months. God had another plan.

Today, at 5 years sober, I couldn’t ask for a better life. I have a beautiful family, an amazing career in behavioral healthcare, and peace of mind. I’m happy, healthy, and content. I’m not ashamed to share my story. I have great friends who care about me. God had another plan.

The moment I asked for help, people in AA were there to help mold me into a man of character, & things started happening in my that I never thought were possible for a person like me. God had another plan.

I remember standing on Starr and White in 2014, homeless and dopesick, looking for some innocent person to rob so I could get another bag of heroin, and saying to myself “if I die today, that’ll be the best thing for the world. I’m not meant to be alive, this is my fate. People like me don’t get clean, I’ll die out here”. God had another plan.

If you’re struggling with ANYTHING, it’s never too late. God has another plan for you, too.

My name is Merissa and I’m an addict. I was once told I would never get custody of my children back from the state. I couldn’t accept that so I fought and I fought hard. I fought so hard that miracles happened. I transformed from a junkie to a mother in recovery. I got custody of my children again. I’ve been homeless. I’ve been revived with narcan, and I’ve been in jail as a result of my addiction. But that was the old me. Today, I have 2 1/2 years sober. We do recover.

For 13 years, I was on heroin and crack. My life consisted of overdoses, attending the funerals of my friends, jails, homelessness, withdrawal, abuse, and suffering. Today, I type this with almost 5 years clean and sober. I have my family back. I am a mother again. I have a job, an apartment, and a nice car. I never thought this was possible when I was out on the streets. This life is so amazing, please come give it a try.

One year and 24 days completely clean! I am very self-conscious about my weight gain, but I’m so happy to be clean and sober! I want to thank everyone for supporting me and loving me until I could love myself!

I started using young. First pills, then that lead to heroin. I was in and out of rehab and I was at a complete low for the longest time. I finally decided to go into a long term program. I was there for about 2 months then, out of nowhere,
my father passed away. He was my number one supporter and since then, I’ve found the will and the power to keep going and to stay sober. It hasn’t been easy, but being sober is much better then being at an all time low.

The first picture is one of the hardest days of our lives. Me and my sister were arrested in 2009 after years of living in addiction together. God put it on my heart that I was done with that life and I went to treatment. About a year after that, God put it on Emily’s heart to finally go to treatment as well. Every single day since has been such a blessing. The second picture is proof that recovery is possible if you put in the work.

Hey guys. My name is Tina and I am now one year clean from meth and pills. I never thought I would even have one day clean. This life is so amazing!

My name is Martin and I’m a grateful recovering addict. After 30 years of escaping feelings, responsibilities and consequences I found myself out of options. I was socially, physically, spiritually, emotionally and financially bankrupt. I did not want to live anymore. I gave rehab one more shot and it worked. I changed my life. I’ve been clean since 8/30/2018. The lie is dead, we do recover!

In the left picture I was lost and desperately addicted to drugs. Caught up in the horrific lifestyle that goes along with drugs. I thought I was a monster and that there was no hope for me. The only way I saw out was killing myself. Exactly what the enemy, Satan, and the devil wanted. But God, all mighty, all powerful, perfect, loving, and gracious, had bigger better plans for me. He reached down and wrapped his arms around me in that moment where I was shattered and saw no way out of the misery. It was when I recognized my need for a savior that my life changed and transformed so drastically.

I am a child of God.
I am happy.
I am a wife.
I am a mother.
I am a friend.
I am a sister.
I am a daughter.

Before, I was none of the above. This is why I share the picture and this post. GOD makes all things new and makes all things possible. There is hope.

For years I walked around this earth an empty shell. Life had no meaning besides where and when I could get high again. My bottom was when I overdosed and found myself on life support for days. Today, I am almost 8 months clean. I have a beautiful baby girl and a full time job. My life has meaning now, thanks to recovery and a billion chances at a new life. We do recover.

Ten years of active addiction, pain, and loss. I lost my family and friends respect, but most of all my self-respect and my dignity. Living in nasty hotels, hospital stays, and self isolation. After my 10th rehab/detox is when it all started to click. This attempt at rehab worked because I was doing it for me and not for anyone else. Something deep inside of me knew I wanted better and desperately wanted change. Today I have a wonderful husband, my family back, and two years of sobriety. Change does not come easy, but it is possible.

One year. The girl on the left was broken, lost, she had given up hope of ever having a life that wasn’t completely ruled by drugs and alcohol. She was scared, hurt and felt there was no way out of the hell she was living. She had fallen so hard and so fast and could barely hold on any longer. She hurt everyone around her and felt completely alone in the world. She did things she never would have done if it weren’t for the crippling grip that addiction had on her. She saw things that she never thought she could heal from. She felt things no one should have to feel. She had lost the sparkle in her eyes and her body, so weak, began to fall apart just like her mind. She was minutes away from death and she just couldn’t find a reason to keep fighting. The girl on the right is free. She has hope, faith and courage. She holds her head high and does everything she can to stay strong and keep fighting. She feels loved, and she loves just the same. She is alive and she is connected. She feels her emotions, even the bad, and knows to take things one day at a time. Today, she is a friend, a daughter, a girlfriend, an employee. Today, she can look at herself in the mirror and smile at the girl staring back. Today, she is happy and she knows she can’t do this alone. Thank you to everyone who has been with me through this crazy year, I love you all, I believe in you all and I pray you too find your happiness.

I’ve been through more detoxes and rehabs than I’ll probably ever feel comfortable admitting. I would never complete, no matter what the consequences may have been. I’d either leave against medical advice or get kicked out for fighting or choking someone out. Failure became normal to me. I gave up on myself. But through every failed attempt, my mom stood by my side and refused to give up on me; more importantly she refused to allow me to give up on myself. The morning of Christmas Eve I overdosed and fell into the train tracks of the L. A police officer was there to hit me with narcan, and give me another chance at life. I went to treatment and started taking a look at my entire life. I started thinking about how my actions affected those around me. I started taking responsibility. I started praying, non stop. If you think God doesn’t have a better plan for your life, just take a look at mine. I shouldn’t be here, but I am. With that being said, on to transitional living for the next chapter.

"I'm too young to be an alcoholic," I used to think to myself, especially in a world where drinking is socially acceptable and glamorized. But like an alcoholic, my mind is my biggest enemy to the point I can convince myself that I can be just fine drinking. The truth is there is nothing left in a drink for me, nothing but pain. I was not the type of person to drink every day, but when I did drink, I could not in safety. I show these pictures below because alcohol has left me nearly dead several times. It has left me awake inhospitable beds on ventilators, and it has put me in terrible situations. I am now 23 and nine months sober, and it feels too good to be true; but it hasn't been easy, but I no longer have to repeat that cycle of embarrassment. Without alcohol, I have realized the dull and the difficult. There are the highs and the lows, but that is life. The challenge for us alcoholics is to find a way to make it work and to make it work means to push past those emotions we once used to treat with addiction. Don't ever think you're too young to get sober because you are never too young to die.

My name is Madison and when I was just 15 years old I started using crack and heroin. By 20 I was on the streets homeless. In my active addiction I went through a lot. I overdosed nineteen times, and escaped situations on the street that I still don’t have words for. Drug court saved my life, and helped me get to where I am today. My family was the first thing to go to my addiction. Today, they’re back in my life and support me. There’s a lot of people out there who don’t support us. There’s a lot of posts out there knocking us. Let them see this. Let them see my picture. I’ll stand up for us. We are the forgotten ones. The ones nobody thought would make it. Look at us now. Never count out an addict.

Heroin. It’s an addiction like no other. It’s a 5 AM daily alarm clock that rips you from your sleep and greets you with crippling anxiety and withdrawal. It takes no days off. It doesn’t care if it’s Sunday, Christmas, or your mother’s birthday. It’s a machine. And machines don’t have feelings. They have functions. Functions that perform a very specific task, and the task of this machine is simple—find heroin and get high. Day after day. Week after week. Month after month. Year after year. It’s a machine that somehow robs you of any memory of your life prior to your addiction. You forget about your grandmother, your first home run, or any interests you ever had prior to it. You know they exist. You know they’re important. You know you once loved them. But for whatever reason, they suddenly lack the relevancy and importance that they once had to you. It degrades you. It torments you. It abuses you. It lies to you and tells you everything is fine. It rationalizes the irrational. It distorts reality. And most importantly, it alienates you from everyone who loves you. Once it has you isolated, it owns you. It’s your worst enemy and your best friend. And then it convinces you that it loves you like nothing and nobody ever loved you in your life. It’s an addiction that I have overcome. An addiction that some say I have beaten. But to be honest some days it still wakes me up and fills me with that same anxiety it used to. Some days it still alienates me from my friends and family. Some days it still try’s to make me forget about what’s important to me. Day after day for 4 years now I continue to take this machine apart. The machine doesn’t work anymore. It tries to but it can’t. It still has the same task but I’ve removed its ability to function. It’s an addiction like no other

My name is Jonah,
I started using weed at a pretty young age, and I didn’t think there was any problem with it. I didn’t have a desire to use any other drugs.
When I was 16 On March 8th, 2009 my brother passed away from a drug and alcohol overdose. I promised myself I would never use hardcore drugs ever, and I despised them and anyone who used them.
But without realizing it, before my eyes I ended up on pills, then pills turned to heroin and heroin turned to fentanyl. And I had to throw cocaine and Xanax in the mix as well.
I started paying serious consequences for my drug use, including many overdoses, jail, and ruined relationships.
My father who was my biggest fan and loved me so much unconditionally even had to step back from my toxic lifestyle. He was dying of cancer, and meanwhile I was taking every last cent from him. He loved me so much, but he didn’t have much time left and he had to choose to step back so he could have a peaceful remainder of his life.
I was in jail at metro west on January 10th, 2015 when I got the news he had passed away. I lost all desire to live at that point, realizing the trouble I had caused and I was too afraid to intentionally kill myself, so I figured if when I got out I could just go back to my drug-addicted lifestyle, and eventually, I would die. Hopefully sooner than later.
But that just led me to more years of suffering. And it got so bad at certain times, I would pray to god that I would die or get killed.
I thoroughly believed there was no way out and that I was in too deep, that I couldn't recover.
On October 26th, 2018 against all odds, I entered rehab for the first time since I was 21, at 25 years old. Unfortunately, I got out and went back to using, but I realized that I may have a chance if I could dedicate myself and come to terms with the fact that I cannot pick up NO MATTER WHAT. I wanted a better life, I just didn’t know what to do or how to obtain it.
On January 10th, 2020 I went to detox, I ended up in a county-run facility here in Miami. I didn’t want to go, because I heard about this place from people in the other rehab I went to and I thought I was too good for it. But in reality, I wasn’t too good for anything at that time. All I knew was I needed to change because I am still in my 20s and I cannot imagine suffering for the rest of my life, so I became willing. On January 15th, 2020 I entered rehab. I became heavily involved in The fellowship and my perspective changed about many things. By the grace of God, I am one year sober!

I’m so proud of myself and how far I’ve came! I never thought I’d be living such a good life. Some days I think, “Is this real life?” I am able to laugh, GENUINELY laugh, without being high or drunk. It feels so good to be comfortable in my own skin. To wake up and not have to use a substance to function and go about my day. I took life for granted and quite frankly, I am lucky to be alive. Addiction IS A DISEASE. I pray everyday for those who are still sick & suffering, for the addict that picked up for the first time, for the addict that picked up for the last time, and the babies born into this insidious disease. To my brothers and sisters in recovery, I love you and will always be here to support you. A huge thank you to my support system for always having faith in me. To my dad, for being my right hand man and to my best friend Erin for never leaving my side and believing in me. And everyone else who supports my recovery. I love you all dearly!

The picture on the left is 2018, full blown IV heroin and meth addiction. The picture on the right is now. Today, I celebrate one year clean. God is so good and life is so beautiful on the other side.

I was on meth for exactly a year. I started at 120 lbs, but I got down to 70lbs. I went into a psychosis multiple times. I would stay awake for days or weeks and would not eat. I ended up in the hospital twice. I shaved my head and my face was a mess. My mental health was horrendous. Thankfully, in a psychosis, my mom called the cops on me. That was exactly what I needed.

Today, I am one year and 8 months sober. I am back up to 115 pounds. I feel better than I ever have. You can sink pretty low in a year’s time but you can also rise up higher than you ever thought possible in the same amount of time.

68 days sober today! This has been the fight of my life. This is the first time I’ve ever actually tried to get sober because I thought it was impossible. It’s not! I wish I knew sooner how much better life could be!

5 years clean today! The second pic is me in jail in 2014. My dad took a bunch of pics so I wouldn’t forget. I can laugh now. I look at that picture and see a naive young women that was careless and selfish. Today, I realize how precious life is and I continue to work on myself using the 12 steps to become a better woman. Recovery changed me and continues to make me better. I love my life and don’t ever want to take it for granted. I’m so grateful for NA and the program that saved my life. 5 years is a long time for an addict like me, I’m so proud of myself!

I was once a person who blamed my problems on anyone, except for myself. My problems were everyone else's problems. I was a victim, I used to numb the feelings of loneliness, depression. I used to celebrate when I would "hit a lick". I was introduced to methamphetamine in 2013, I used on & off for the first couple of years.. In 2016 is when my addiction got bad. I would walk miles to get high, and I constantly cuss God. I lost my self worth, my self respect, & my self esteem. I got into the wrong crowd and I kept going to jail. I went to jail multiple times in 5 years. This is my last mugshot as of January 6, 2019. May 2019, I turned into a coldhearted person I visited the darkest place I've ever been in my life. I started believing that God wasn't real. Today, I thank God for allowing me to get arrested on January 6, 2019. I wasn't even mad when I got pulled over, I felt instant relief. I knew that I was going to Bowie County Women's Center! I got there and I played the victim, until I was told to sit down and really look at my problems and taking ownership of all the s**t I had done. I started putting in the work, and I could tell that I was growing into the woman I've always wanted to be. I started watching Elevation Church on Sunday's.. It changed my life. Bowie County Women's Center changed my life. I have been 1 year sober and a couple of weeks. I thank God for setting me down! I will never look back down that road ever again!!! God has transformed me into the woman I truly wanted to be and he is still doing wonderful wonders in my life!! I have a supportive family and my sisters in purple!! I'm so thankful for a 2nd chance. I was able to live two different lifestyles in one lifetime!!

I was going down a bad road of alcohol and destruction. I almost lost my family because I gave up, went into a bad depression, lost someone very very close to me, and it got worse. I drank every single day from about 2015 to November of 2019 just to cope. I’m what they would’ve called a functioning alcoholic, but I can honestly say god will restore everything you have lost if you only believe and be OBEDIENT to his will over your life. Now I’m one year sober because I decided to change my life. My father died at a young age of alcoholism and I vowed to myself I would break this generational curse. My family have been my biggest supporters. My three angels that I lost on 3/7/19, 3/17/20, and 4/17/20 are in the grandstands of heaven smiling down on me. Thank god for change

The weather was cold and dreary like today - at least that’s the way I remember it. With all my possessions in trash bags and tweeker bags my guy dropped me off at 1409 2nd st. I was scared and alone highly motivated by my last hope of regaining custody of my kids who had been taken by CPS in a drug bust. I was awkward - antisocial really - and my brain had zero capability of producing serotonin. My fear of the future consumed me and anger was the only emotion I knew how to express. I stayed in treatment as long as they’d let me and went on to transitional like had been suggested. I started to see my kids slowly and then on a regular basis and hope began to grow inside of me. I was introduced to the recovery community and finally got one of those sponsors everyone kept talking about. Nothing came to me easily. My brain had been burnt from the years of IV drug use. I began to share in meetings and take the suggestions of my sponsor and others who had been where I was and things started to happen...things inside of me. There were no guarantees about what the future would have to offer but I believed in the simple concepts of recovery. Through prayer and a journey in finding daily gratitude, my life changed. I regained custody of my kids and so much more. The blessing of recovery have been more than I ever imagined or deserved. Life has had it difficulties but by the grace of God I haven’t had to use chemicals as a solution for the last 13 years and for that I am eternally grateful.

7 months and 15 days sober after a 3 year meth and heroin addiction. We do recover!

After 20 years of struggling with addiction I finally got my life back. This is what 11 months clean looks like! Never give up hope.

I am overjoyed and eternally grateful that on December 18th, 2019, I decided that no longer will I lay at rock bottom and wait for a trap door to open for me. I had a life changing moment of clarity. Now I've seen the BEST parts of my life! Today, I have a whole year of sobriety, peace, self-worth, love, understanding, and tolerance. I just wanted to let my story be heard and show anyone out there that this is possible. Heroin took everything from me, but it has also taught me how strong I am. We do recover!

My name is Angie and I am 29 years old. I suffered with addiction for 12 years. In that time I have lost the love of my life, been incarcerated over 5 times in multiple jails, went to rehab 4 times and been homeless. This past year I attended a mommy and me program that changed my life. I now have 11 months clean and have a sponsor and home group I am in love with. I choose life, I choose my daughters, my family and recovery.
1st photo is of me in the horrors of addiction. 2nd is of me 11 months happy in recovery.

After a 2-year fentanyl addiction, I’m proud to say I’m now 5 months sober!

My dope dealer Boobie answers on the first ring, "What's up champ I'm on Guy Brewer, how much you need?" I sit and pause for a moment. My nose is running, my stomach is churning, and my bones are aching for a bundle. The question hits me again? How much do I need? Here's what I need. I need one bundle of low-esteem. I need ten years of pain. I need to be so dishonest that I can no longer decipher the true from the false. I need to hate my life everyday. I need to dread the next day because I know tomorrow I'll be forced to do it all over again. I need to be degraded, and embarrassed. I need to spend everyday worrying about being dope sick and forget about what real life is. I need a decade worth of getting my mother's hopes up just to tear them down. I need 3,650 days of being estranged from my family. I need 28 failed treatment attempts. I need homelessness, and dereliction. I need to spend Christmas year after year in a train station. I need 7 overdoses and 7 emergency rooms to walk right out of. I need the stigma of addiction to make me settle in life. I need to be riddled with fear in every fiber of my being. I NEED TO LOSE EVERYTHING. Boobie pauses for a second and says, "Yeah champ I got that for you, it's 75 a bundle but it's fire today." I try to tell him I don't want it, but all that comes out my mouth is, "I'm on my way."

Today is a BIG milestone for me in recovery from alcohol. I celebrate SIX MONTHS of continual sobriety, but I wanted to share what’s on my heart. Somewhere, at some point, I completely stopped caring about myself.

I was always much more than this, I always was. They saw me as an alcoholic — unworthy and unforgiveable. As I laid, many weekends clinging to the bedsheets wanting God to end my suffering on earth, I still had hopes, plans, and dreams. But the internal grief had taken over; I just wanted the pain to end. Whoever is out there that kept praying for me to finally see my worth – I’m so glad you did.

YOU are the reason I celebrate SIX MONTHS of SOBRIETY -- 182 days, 26 weeks of walking through the dark, looking for an avenue of light. I’m finding it, daily – small and gentle reminders that whisper, “you’re going to be okay…” I tell my stories with a smile because there are still people trying to recover, still hating themselves for their mistakes, and the families that are shattered by the mistakes – however, there is HOPE.

I was addicted to meth from 2013 to 2016 ended up in the hospital three different times. One it got so bad I ended on life support because my kidneys shut down. I am proud to say I’ve been clean and sober since then! We do recover!!

On this day 8 years ago, I was separated from drugs and alcohol for the last time. I was desperate, I was destitute, and I was out of ideas. I knew I couldn't keep going the way I was going, but I didn't know how to stop either. So I did the only thing that made sense to me at the time and I reached out to someone I knew from AA. I now know that desperation I felt was a gift from God, so when that woman from AA threw me a life preserver, I grasped onto it like my life depended on it because it did. Carol, thank you for being the hand of AA that was there for me when I reached out for help. Thank you, God, for putting me in a place where I could accept the help she offered and for delivering me from the prison of addiction that I had started to believe I would never be free from. I couldn't have done it without You. I am truly grateful today.

3 months clean from heroin and meth. I choose to live!

4 years free from heroin. On the left, I was about to go to prison as a result of my drug use. On the right, I can finally genuinely smile again. Don’t give up on yourself, recovery is possible!

I'm 24 and I have made it to over 22 months without drugs.
Two heartbreaks, with so many nights and days crying on the floor and screaming at my bedroom walls. Sleeping on a couch in the suburbs to a small room at two different places with my mom, countless moments of absolute joy, and laughter that makes your stomach hurt. Beauty that makes you believe in magic.
Working 8-13 hours a day 5-7 days a week at multiple jobs until I found one that affords me a life that allows me to breathe.
From severe depression, self-harm, and several attempts to take my own life to finding out how to be content and never inflict pain upon myself. Learning how to display a genuine smile every day, for even just the smallest reason.
Losing my grandma, losing myself, and finding myself.
Getting my dog, losing my dog, and stealing him back.
To my own two-bedroom apartment, a new car, and restored relationships with my family and friends.
You may not know my story, but take a seat, and let me show you how misery and darkness can turn into a life wrapped in love, it's about self-love and unconditional love for myself, and for you all.
It'll be 2 years on November 22nd, 2020.