- Alcohol
- Drugs
- Faith
Hello, my name is Nora F. I grew up in Flushing, NY. I was born in the mid 70s. My mother was born in Ireland, and my father was born in the Bronx, so I am Irish American. I have two older brothers. Both of my parents were alcoholics. Growing up in my home was not easy. My father left when I was quite young. My mother joined a 12-step support group, and a lot of my childhood memories were in or around the group. I despised going to those meetings. Who knew that one day they would save my life?
I started drinking at 14. I remember the warm feeling that came over me. My fears were removed. I was a nervous child who was extremely thin and self-conscious. Alcohol removed that. I started off as a weekend warrior, and I became an out-of-control teen, cutting school and not listening to my mother. My father was too busy in the bars or at off-track betting. He was a chronic alcoholic and gambler. He always missed special occasions. I hated that about him. I can’t tell you how many hours I wasted looking out a window, waiting for him to show up.
I continued drinking and getting drunk. I was not productive at all. I dropped out of high school, and my mother was at her wits’ end. My father became terminally ill when I was 18 and died from lung cancer when I was 19. I found crack cocaine during the last year of his life. My mom knew right away that crack was taking away her little girl. I was stealing from her and causing her stress. She entered me into a treatment program. It was like a boot camp. I hated it, but I had no choice. She said I could not live with her if I did not get help.
I did eight months there and returned home. I stayed clean for a while, but I stopped going to support group meetings. Soon I was out again. My early twenties are a blur. I drank, smoked crack and hung around an insane bunch of people. My disease progressed, and I ended up living in a crack house. One of the girls that lived there was murdered, chopped up, by a serial killer. I am very lucky to be alive.
I went back to rehab for eleven months. I did okay after that. I lived with the good family of a girl I met in rehab. I was working two jobs and staying sober. When she relapsed, I had to return to my mother’s place. It was not long before I relapsed yet again. The disease of addiction took me to some shady, scary places.
I thank God that today I am in sobriety and working a program. I went back to school, and I’m interning with adolescents with addiction issues. I love my life today, and I’m lucky to be alive. I plan on returning to college to finish my degree. Today I can give back. My higher power has taken me to another level. I’m not broke. I pay my bills. I am no longer homeless. I am engaged to a wonderful man. Life is beyond my wildest dreams.