I started drinking at 14 and straight away the effect it had on me absolutely fascinated me. It made me feel secure, it made me feel I had courage, that I was the “life of the party”. After 21 years of being in active addiction, I found the last year my absolute worst. I was in such a dark place that I felt I couldn’t get out of, on the outside everything seemed to be “perfect” on the inside I was empty. I have now been sober for almost ten months and my life has changed dramatically. I feel whole again, and I am able to love myself. That’s because I was loved back to love thanks to my program and the people in it. From darkness to light, from sadness to joy, from lost to found. Alcohol gave me wings to fly, but took away the sky. I am blessed to have started my recovery before I lost everything near and dear to me.