By Kirsty D., MARR Alumnus
On August 25, 2008, I walked through the doors of MARR a broken twenty-two-year-old. After witnessing someone close to me die of an overdose and being arrested, my mom bailed me out of jail with a contract that read “I will go to treatment or go back to jail”. I quickly signed the contract and was immediately taken to detox. While in detox, my mom researched long-term treatment options.
I remember trying to persuade my mom to let me go to a 30-day treatment center after she had told me about MARR. 90 days seemed like an eternity! I had my life I needed to get back to. I was facing multiple court charges in several counties, had just been kicked out of my apartment and was in the depths of my disease. Alcohol and drugs were a necessity in order for me to function on a day-to-day basis.
I only agreed to come to MARR to get my mom off of my back and to get my court cases dismissed. I really had no intentions on staying sober. Thankfully, God had a different plan. I completed MARR’s halfway program and decided to stay in their three-quarters sober living. That was one of the best decisions I ever made. I ended up staying at MARR for a total of 13 months (even though 90 days was an eternity). At some point along the way at my time at MARR, I surrendered and decided to give recovery a shot. The little bit of willingness I had helped God work through me and changed my life forever.
Throughout my time at MARR I was given so many gifts. I learned about my disease and was introduced to a 12-Step program that offered a solution. I learned how to feel and sort through the feelings I had been stuffing for years and years. I learned how to have integrity and most importantly, how to have fun without drugs and alcohol. I learned how to love myself and how to be a good friend. My life isn’t controlled by when or how I’m going to get my next fix and that’s a miracle! MARR helped me grow up to become a healthier and happier woman.
I remember sitting in groups with alumni that had years of sobriety thinking how impossible it felt to get that much time. I wondered how I was going to get through my wedding without alcohol or go to a concert without getting messed up. They shared their experiences and gave me so much hope. I moved out of MARR into a house not far from the Women’s Recovery Center with three of the girls I lived with in three-quarters. Everyone joked and called our house four-quarters. We remained very involved with MARR for years.
Throughout the years, I still try to stay involved with the women in MARR. I have volunteered in the Thursday Spirituality Group up until I had my daughter 8 months ago, and I took a year off after I had my son, too. It was such a big deal for me to see the support the alumni gave me when I was in MARR, I really try to do the same. I want to show the new lady walking in, broken and sad like I was, that recovery is possible and a beautiful life is waiting for her if she is willing to do the work.
I got married in 2011 and had a DRY wedding. It was so much fun, filled with people in recovery. We danced the night away and alcohol wasn’t even a thought in my mind. I have two beautiful kids, who, God-willing, never have to see me drunk or high, as long as I continue to do the things I was taught when I first came in. I’m learning how to balance being a mom, a wife, an employee and a friend and none of that would be possible if it weren’t for MARR. As long as I make my recovery the top priority, my life will continue to be great. It’s like “they” say, my life isn’t always rainbows and butterflies, but I know today that a drink or drug will never make anything better, always worse.
I know, without a shadow of doubt, if it weren’t for MARR and the staff at the Women’s Recovery Center, I wouldn’t be where I am today. MARR saved my life and I will be forever grateful for their program.
