- Alcohol
Submitted by Sean
Joyce was so great to speak with. Her voice was powerful, and her passion for recovery was evident in her message.
Joyce started drinking when she was 15 years old. Her dad was in the Air Force, and this contributed to her moving around from place to place. She was a shy kid, and when she drank, she loved that it made her able to open up and relate with others. She felt empowered to be who she thought she really was.
Alcoholism ran in her family. Her father and grandfather were alcoholics, and as far back as Joyce could remember, alcoholism was there. She started to recover at 27 years old and was in and out of 12-Step programs for three years. Her 20’s were a blur, and it was not until she hit rock bottom that she got serious about recovery.
Joyce made the decision on New Year’s Day 1982 when she moved to Memphis, TN. It was there she sought people who were like her but were strong. She found a woman with 17 years of sobriety and stuck around her. Her proudest moment in sobriety has been helping to further the Tennessee professional assistance program, a recovery program for nurses. Nursing has been a big part of her life. She said it was hard at first to get sober because all the nurses were actively drinking. “It was just a part of the job,” she said. “We got off a long night in the ER and we all went to the bar.” She stuck with the program, though, and it was through helping others that she stayed sober.
Joyce’s hope is that everyone can hit their rock bottom—“the bottom that’s right for them,” she said; “everyone has a different bottom.” She said when we get into and stay in recovery, “we get our lives back.”
Joyce has been sober since New Year’s Day 1982.