How My Addiction & Story of Recovery Saved My Life

I should have died on November 6, 2015. After years of substance abuse and active addiction, I was found unresponsive in my car. Drug addiction had taken everything from me. That moment could have been the end of my life, but it wasn’t. On November 6, 2017, I began my recovery journey for real.

This is my personal story. It’s not something I heard in a meeting or read in a book. It’s my story of recovery, and the only reason I’m alive today.

When I finally surrendered, something changed deep inside. Not just my behavior, but my entire direction. A recovery story isn’t meant to be hidden. Recovery stories are powerful, and they carry the potential to save lives.

If you’re reading this right now and still struggling, know this. There is hope. There is purpose. And there is a way out. Keep going. You’re not alone anymore.

The Downward Spiral Into Drug Addiction

What started as curiosity turned into a deadly game I couldn’t control.

I didn’t wake up one day and decide to become an addict. It started slowly, buried beneath pain I never knew how to face. The childhood trauma I carried shaped how I saw myself, even if I couldn’t name it back then. I was angry, anxious, and disconnected, and I didn’t know how to talk about it.

Drugs and alcohol became the outlet. Not all at once, but in patterns I kept hidden. At first, it felt like I had found relief. But the more I used, the more I pulled away from the people who loved me.

I lied to my friends. I wore a smile for my family. I kept up the act for as long as I could. But underneath it all, addiction was growing. I stopped caring about school, about relationships, about the future. I lost connection with who I was and started living in survival mode.

Eventually, I lost everything. I had a house at one point. That turned into a couch. Then a car. Then the street. By the time college came around, I was already spiraling. I didn’t process pain—I avoided it. Every moment I stayed numb, I slipped further away.

Addiction doesn’t announce itself. It just waits for you to give up, then convinces you it was always your choice.

A 12-Year-Old Given Cocaine

The very first time I tried drugs, I was twelve years old. A 22-year-old handed me cocaine, and I didn’t even hesitate. That moment changed everything. I started drinking alcohol soon after, learning quickly how to lie, hide, and keep secrets.

I became two people—one the world saw, and one I was becoming in secret: an addict. That’s how my addiction began. Not with parties or peer pressure, but with deep confusion, pain, and a growing desire to escape. I didn’t realize it then, but I had already started a journey that would cost me years of my life.

I Thought the Dope Was Bunk, Then I Woke Up in Glass

I had spent the night at my girlfriend’s, pretending everything was fine. I left to get high alone, hiding the truth as usual. I shot up around the corner, but nothing hit. I thought the dope was bunk. The next thing I knew, I was waking up in a pile of glass with flashing lights and strangers surrounding me.

I had overdosed. That was the point where my story almost ended. I should have died that night. I wasn’t just suffering. I was completely lost and afraid of who I had become. The past had nearly killed me.

A Face-to-Face Encounter That Changed My Recovery Journey

I didn’t get clean through treatment—I met Jesus at IHOP.

For years, I tried to stop. I went to meetings. I begged for help. I even waited on a list for rehab but never got the call. I had been through so much pain, so much brokenness, I honestly believed I was going to die in my addiction. That was my reality. I didn’t think freedom was possible for someone like me.

But this is my personal story, and it didn’t end there.

In 2017, I walked into the International House of Pancakes, desperate, hurting, and out of answers. That morning, while I ate my French toast with my best friend Brendan, I met Jesus face-to-face. Not in a vision or a dream. In a way that shattered every excuse I had left. I decided in that moment to surrender everything. I told Him I would do whatever it took.

I didn’t get clean in a facility. I didn’t detox in a center. But I got on my knees, and I got honest.

I worked the 12 Steps for the first time with real willingness. On day 25, I did my first Fifth Step. On day 26, the obsession to drink and use left me. That was the beginning of my recovery journey. Shame began to lose its grip. Drinking was no longer an option. The craving was gone.

God gave me a new life. Not a perfect one. But one full of purpose and real freedom. And I’ve never turned back. Because I know what it cost to get here.

From Waitlist to Willing

I had been chasing sobriety for years but never fully committed. Being on a waitlist for treatment forced me to stop relying on outside help and take responsibility. I decided to act, right then, with what I had.

This time was different. I wasn’t trying to manage addiction anymore. I became willing to go all in, no matter what. I found someone to take me through the 12 Steps. On day 25, I did my first real Fifth Step. On day 26, the obsession was gone. It didn’t fade slowly. It left.

That was the beginning of my recovery journey. For the first time, I felt a real sense of freedom. I wasn’t just surviving. I was finally starting to live.

My Story of Recovery Became My Purpose

When I started sharing my truth, people started waking up.

As I kept sharing my recovery story, something shifted. People weren’t just listening. They were engaging. A mother messaged me about her son who had tried everything but still couldn’t stay clean. Another guy told me he was taking pills daily just to deal with the anxiety, and it had completely stopped working. They didn’t need inspiration. They needed someone who understood.

I never planned on this. I wasn’t chasing influence. I was a man who broke down enough to finally let God rebuild him. And I couldn’t keep quiet about what He did.

The more I spoke, the more I began to heal. I wasn’t just telling my story—I was living it in service to others. Every time I helped someone break free, I felt the purpose behind my past. My sobriety wasn’t just for me. It was a tool to reach others still struggling.

This wasn’t about achieving perfection. It was about showing up with the truth. That’s where Recovered On Purpose was born. The idea wasn’t mine. It was given to me to address a real need. A need for honesty. A need for people who know what it feels like to be broke, lost, and ready for something more.

The Woman Who Told Me to Stop… and the Girl Who Told Me Not To

In my first 30 days of sobriety, I shared my recovery story in a meeting. A woman told me I should leave that kind of thing for churches. I walked back to my seat feeling like it was just me, like maybe I had said too much. That feeling of shame hit hard. I almost decided to stay quiet from then on.

But then another person stood up. She looked straight at me and simply said, “Thank you.” That was it. She walked out, and I never saw her again. But her words stayed with me.

That moment didn’t just give me permission to speak. It showed me that recovery stories carry weight. They reach people in addiction when nothing else can. They bring hope to families who think they’ve lost someone for good. They remind us that long term recovery is possible, even when it still feels out of reach.

It wasn’t about being impressive. It wasn’t about having the perfect message. It was about being real. That one experience taught me that my voice wasn’t just for me. It was for the person still suffering who needed someone to go first.

Why Recovery Stories Save Lives

Someone out there is waiting for your voice. Speak it.

Recovery stories aren’t just powerful. They’re necessary. I’ve learned that one person’s willingness to speak up can open a door that someone else thought was locked forever. When we talk honestly about addiction, substance use, and what it takes to overcome it, we give others permission to believe that change is possible.

Your voice matters. Not after you’ve become “successful,” but right now. You don’t need a platform. You don’t need a microphone. You just need to tell the truth.

Substance use disorders thrive in silence. That silence kills people. When we tell the truth about the pain and the process, we break it. One recovery story can interrupt a relapse. It can lead someone to treatment. It can help a person understand that long term recovery is real.

Sharing also helps us. It forces us to deal with the past and learn how to cope in healthy ways. It helps us become grounded in our identity, not as addicts, but as people on a journey worth living.

Life today looks different for me because I speak. Because I share. Because I’ve made it my mission through Recovered On Purpose to help others do the same.

You never know who needs to hear your story. You never know how many lives are tied to your courage. Speak up. Share. Be the person who turns silence into freedom. Someone is waiting, and your story might be the one that saves them.

Final Thoughts To Share Your Story of Recovery

Addiction nearly took my life, but God had a different plan. He gave me recovery, freedom, and purpose—and it started when I chose to share my story. I know what it feels like to be stuck, to think sobriety isn’t possible, and to wonder if life will ever get better. But I’m telling you now, there is hope. Your story matters. Someone’s life could change just by hearing what you’ve been through and how far you’ve come.

If you’re in recovery and ready to help others, learn how to share your recovery story. The world needs it. Someone out there is waiting for you to speak. And they don’t have time for silence.