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My name is Adrienne. I am 32 years old.
I went to McMaster and did a double major in fine art and art history. And after that
decided to pursue a masters degree in fine art. And attended the Art Institute of Boston.
And it was when I was in Boston that I was jogging one night in early November and I
was sexually assaulted. I never had anything like that happen to me before.
Every day I would wake up and all I would think about was getting the money to get an
Oxy. Where I was going to get an Oxy. And you'd spend your whole day hunting down a
pill.
For so long with my addiction, I felt I had no control over the situation. Like I had
lost control and was beyond hope. Beyond recovery. I was totally cut off from everyone in my
family except for my mother. Nobody wanted me around. And I knew it. And I felt incredibly
guilty because of all the gifts I had felt I have been given in life already, all the
love and support I had received growing up, I felt like how ungrateful am I that this
is what I've done with it. This is how I've turned around and thank my family. It got
to a point where I felt like this was maybe going to be how I live the rest of my life.
I felt like there was a good chance that I was going to die as an *** addict.
Drugs became the most important thing so if I lost my apartment, that was fine as long
as I had pills. Through going on Methadone, I've been able to stop using ***, stop
using any other illegal substances.
For me, that has really been what's given me my life back. My parents and I have a great
relationship right now. And I honestly didn't think that was possible two years ago. I've
never felt so happy, so joyous, and I've never appreciated so many little things in life
as I do right now, being clean.
There was nothing in my life I am willing to lose, for those pills. Those pills were
everything to me for the years that I was using them. I wouldn't ever go back.
I know now going through what I have that I can make it. I know I'm going to have a full positive, happy life. I am prepared
to fight and keep this sobriety.