“I had no frame of reference,” Emily says of her substance abuse. “Growing up, there were no drugs or alcohol in our home. I knew nothing about what addiction looked like, what recovery looked like.”
When high school experimentation quickly turned into addiction, however, it seemed like her life was upended overnight.
“Within six months of being offered hard drugs, everything around me had fallen apart,” Emily recalls. “I was homeless and working as a prostitute. At that point, I would have done anything just to get by.
Fortunately, a shelter caseworker pointed me to Renascent.”
Recovery took time, however, and with rock bottom came the recognition of what would be required to maintain a substance-free life.
“At first, I thought treatment would ‘recover’ me,” Emily admits. “I didn’t realize the real work had only started. ‘Recovery’ is not just something I can do once; it takes daily effort and practice to make myself a little bit better every day, a little bit kinder and more loving.
But it’s completely worth it. It’s such a great feeling to get into bed at night and know I didn’t use – and it’s even more rewarding when things are difficult.”
Today, Emily is filled with gratitude for her healthy, abundant life. She has a strong relationship with her family and a loving, supportive partner. She’s returned to school and is studying for her dream job – a goal she almost abandoned when her addiction took hold.
And she has a favourite story that illustrates just how far she’s come.
“It sounds strange,” Emily shares, “but one of the biggest gifts of my recovery today is my ability to eat raspberries.
When I was in active addiction, the thought that such a seemingly small thing was even possible was inconceivable to me. To start, I didn’t have money for groceries, because every cent I had went to getting high. It’s safe to say that things that nourished my body were not what I was thinking about when I was using.
To now have a home, with a fridge, with something fresh and delicious like raspberries in it – it’s such a gift. None of these things would have been possible before.”
Importantly, her mindset also extends to how she thinks about herself.
“Today, even when things are difficult, at the end of the day I know who I am,” she says. “I can love myself, look in the mirror and know that whatever happens, I’m doing the best I can. I will forever be grateful to Renascent for helping me reach this place.”
