The path to recovery looks different for everyone. For Aylissa, it began with a hard truth and a brave decision. After growing up in a home shaped by addiction, she found herself repeating the same patterns as an adult. “I’m the one who got social workers involved with my own case,” she shares. “My son … Continued
By Renascent Alumni, Shayna Step 7: Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings When I first came into the rooms and heard people say the 12 Steps had relieved them of the obsession to drink or use, I didn’t believe it. I thought they were either lying or just built different. I was completely … Continued
A lifelong musician, Kevin’s descent into addiction began simply enough. After all, performing in bars and other venues serving alcohol was common, and drinking had been part of his life for some time. As the years progressed, however, alcohol “slowly grew to be a very dominant part of my life,” he shares, admitting that in … Continued
For Briann, alcohol offered an escape from her first sip at 13 years of age. It was a pattern that continued for the next 24 years. “I kept trying to quit in different ways,” she shares. “I was always trying to control my addiction—but I always went back. Alcohol was a solution for me.” Over the … Continued
Shame is one of the most painful and isolating emotions we experience in addiction. It tells us we are not enough, not lovable, and not worthy of connection or healing. It’s the voice that says, “You’ll never change.” For many of us, shame didn’t start with our addiction, but addiction deepened it — and then … Continued
Michael’s struggle with addiction led him to a life centred on alcohol and, ultimately, turned into a desperate cry for help. “I’d lost hope,” he says simply. “I was on my way to suicide, or on my way to treatment. Fortunately, I chose the latter.” After completing an inpatient program at Renascent, he was better … Continued
