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 was three years old at the time, and I was really struggling. I knew we both deserved a better life.”
Determined to break the cycle, Aylissa made a courageous choice: she explained her illness to her young son, ensured he was safe – and sought help. However, the early days of separation were anything but easy.
“At first, I struggled more without my son. I had more time to use and drink,” she says. “And when I thought I was doing better, I swapped my drug of choice for alcohol. At the time, it felt like progress—but I now know I was just replacing one addiction with another.”
Her turning point came with a near-fatal overdose. After a period of detox, she arrived at Renascent, ready to begin a new chapter.
“My experience in treatment was nothing like I expected,” she says. “I pictured it like jail—but I quickly learned that the doors only lock from the inside. Staying was my choice.”
It was a choice she made with conviction.
“Leaving was an option—but not one I was willing to take,” she explains. “I was fully committed to getting better, for myself and for my son. I come from a long line of generational alcoholism and addiction. And I decided: it ends with me.”
Today, Aylissa describes life in recovery as “freedom.”
“It’s still hard to believe I’m in recovery and completely abstinent,” she says. “I work with a sponsor, attend meetings, and ask for help when I need it. I’m incredibly grateful to be surrounded by a community filled with support.”
The most important lesson?
“I had to get help for me,” she says. “I love my son more than anything, but I couldn’t do it for him alone. Recovery meant learning to love myself—and putting myself first.
This is the first time I’ve loved myself authentically. And that’s been the key to everything,” she shares. “I’m proud of myself, but what inspires me is my son. I’m ending the cycle – for both of us.”
