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Submitted by: Abby Foster
On June 17, Cookie B. celebrated 18 years in recovery. It has been a journey she began when she was so full of pain that she wanted to die. When it began, she had recently lost a baby, and both her grandmother and grandfather had recently passed. Cookie’s substance use had helped her to dull the pain but her addiction took control. “I was sick and tired of me, and I knew that if I continued using, I would die.”
Recovery has brought Cookie many blessings. The most positive change in her life is her ability to be a responsible person in society. She is proud to say, “I have stayed clean consecutively for 18 years, and I am able to help others.” Cookie has made life of helping others. The most satisfying part of her life today is seeing the miracle of others as they find wellness in the recovery community where she works.
But she struggles too. It is hard for Cookie “watching my kids use.” She stated, “I work to overcome that because I continue to help other newcomers or suffering addicts that want the help. Right now, they (my kids) are in a place that they don’t see they need the help. But they are aware it is here. They have been exposed.” Cookie planted the seed of hope of recovery within her children and she continues to be living proof that recovery works.
Recovery has taught Cookie the important truth that, “No matter what happens in my life, I never have to use again. I’ll get through it with the help of the program and my higher power.”
To the newcomer who is fearful they may not make it, she states, “Just hold on. Just hold on for today. I promise you I will be here to help you go through whatever it is you have to go through.”
She adds, “Don’t do something just because you can. That has been a good piece of wisdom for me because I’d always thought that I was using because I wasn’t hurting anybody, but come to find out that whatever decision I make affects somebody else, too. I have to continue to do the right thing for the right reasons.”