Emma describes the moment she reached her bottom as both terrifying and necessary.

“I woke up at 40 and realized I had created a nightmare,” she says. “I had been using substances my whole life, but I truly didn’t understand how addiction progresses.”  Having “graduated” substances time and time again, her final drug of choice “took me to my knees very quickly,” she says.

To that point, Emma had lost jobs, faced eviction, and cut herself off completely from others. “I was bankrupt in every sense,” she shares. “There was no part of my life that was manageable. I was scared, and more afraid of not changing than of what change might look like. I knew I needed help, and I couldn’t cope on my own anymore.”

She reached out to her family, making the first step in what would become a life-changing journey. “I told them what was going on and that I was willing to go to treatment,” she recalls. “They did the legwork, looked into different programs, and liked that Renascent was based in the 12 Steps. I was willing to try whatever they thought was best.”

It turned out to be a wise decision. Renascent’s inpatient program gave her more than a foundation; it gave her a future.

“Renascent really did set me on a whole new path,” Emma says. “The care and attention I was shown made a huge difference. I’ve reflected on it a lot since, and I still go to alumni meetings, as well as 12-Step meetings in my community.”  She’s grateful to have been introduced to the Steps at Renascent, which became a vital bridge to ongoing support.

Before recovery, Emma says, life had narrowed to one thing: using. “Every day, all I did — or thought about doing — was using drugs. It came at the expense of everything: food, sleep, work, family, joy. Life felt dark and hopeless. I remember looking out a car window and seeing someone gardening, and wondering if simple things like that could ever bring me joy again.”

In treatment, Emma heard that breaking point called “the gift of desperation.”  It resonated.

“When we are broken, we become willing,” she explains. “And I was broken.”

More than a year later, Emma says her life is full of gratitude, connection, and peace — all things she never thought possible while in active addiction.

“My whole perspective has changed,” she shares. “I believe my best years are ahead of me, I really do. I spend a lot of time with family. I have hope for the future. And I’ve developed a faith and a sense of peace I had never experienced before.”

She’s also surrounded by support. “I felt so alone before recovery. But as soon as I started taking action, I was flooded with support — from my family, from others in the program, and from a higher power.

None of us have to do this alone,” she says. “I used to think willpower was the answer, that needing help was weakness.

But I’ve learned that there’s courage in surrender. I thought I was weak, and I was wrong.”