i was born the first child of two. my brother is 16 months younger
than i. my mother and father divorced when i was 6. mom remaried
about 1 year later. after she remaried it felt as though my whole
life took a downward spiral. i was getting into alot of troube at
school and at home. you see i did'nt fit in in this family that i
lived with. mom was involved with her new husband and my brother and
stepfather got along great. mom and her husband began drinking alot.
my stepfather and i did not get along at all. by the age of 11 i
began running with the trouble makers at my school. i began using
illegal drugs and drinking. you see, now i fit in somewhere i
belonged. by the age of 15 i had become a drug addict and was living
on the streets of portland, and in what are now condemed hotels in
downtown portland. i left portland to go to california at 15 years
old. i remember sleeping on the streets and under overpasses. i
would trade in the clothes i was wearing so i could have clean
clothes. i was arrested in hollywood california when i was 15. my
mother at that time had taken my brother to alaska to live, now
divorced from my stepfather. my aunt and uncle got me out of
california only to send me away because they did'nt know what to do
with me. i overdosed 3 times between the ages of 15 and 24. By the
time i was 18 my life was out of control with drug and alcohol. i
recieved two dui's and was involved with really bad people. but you
see i still belonged somewhere. in january of 1987 i hit my bottom.
i had destroyed everything around me because of my addiction to drugs
and alcohol. i had nothing left, nothing. it was my belief that i
would die before i turned 25. i have seen things and been places that
no one should ever have to be a part of.
today i have been clean and sober for 11 years, this is phenomenal.
people like me dont get to where i am today. i have an 11 year old
son who has never seen me drunk. i have a nice home and a wonderful
significant other. i get up and go to work on a daily basis and i can
hold a job today. i am a prductive member of society today. my life
was spared for some reason unknow to me and i dont need to know why.
i am gratef to be alive and living sober one day at a time. this is
the handy work of my higher power.