- Alcohol
- Friends & Family
Submitted by: Susanne Johnson
This year marks nine years of continuous sobriety for me. I’m in recovery from alcoholism. I started excessive drinking in my 30’s while a stewardess on a boat. I am from Italy, and now enjoy South Florida. As I was working on the boat, the atmosphere was always that of a huge party, and it didn’t take long before I got involved. I was not only serving drinks, but also drinking heavily myself. My teenage years and early adulthood did not include alcohol or drugs, it just kicked in for me very late, but what followed were ten years of heavy alcohol consumption. Alcohol was a huge part of my daily life.
I tried to stop on my own many times. I made the resolution to not drink during the week and only on weekends. It never took long for me to fall back into my old habits. Alcoholism is a habit, and it’s hard to break. I was so tired of it all and couldn’t deal with it anymore. I made the decision to attend 12-step meetings. Drinking wasn’t fun anymore and I thought, at that time, that I really needed to change. This brought me sobriety for about four years. After four years I stopped going to meetings and began to isolate myself from my sober friends. My husband at that time was an alcoholic as well, and I fell back in my miserable life of staying home and drinking, instead of going to meetings and being with my sober friends.
Eventually I divorced. Soon after, my husband died as a result of his alcoholism. Our daughter was thirteen when he died. I pray that she will not follow in our footsteps and develop any addictions. She has her story to tell as a daughter of two alcoholics, I hope it will have a positive impact on her decisions in life and that she never feels the need to go there herself.
I made it back in the rooms of 12-step meetings eventually and as I mentioned before, have nine years of continuous sobriety. I attend my meetings regular. I know first hand what can happen if I stop going. I started to run again. This was a passion I had all my life, and today I continue to frequently participate in races. My years in alcoholism made me stop running at times, but it was one of the major factors that most likely kept me alive. I’m re-married and we live with my daughter. He is not an alcoholic and drinks occasionally. Today this does not bother me as I am stable in my sobriety and recovery.
I have a sponsor, I go to my meetings and I run. My life is fulfilling today.