Family Interview with Karen M., by Ashley Neal
I have been reading stories of recovery from addiction and eating disorders for a very long time. When I joined the staff at Turning Point of Tampa, part of my job was to find people who wanted to share their story with us. In turn, we share those stories on our website and social media […]
Family Member Interview with Deb C., by Ashley Neal
I have been reading stories of recovery from addiction and eating disorders for a very long time. When I joined the staff at Turning Point of Tampa, part of my job was to find people who wanted to share their story with us. In turn, we share those stories on our website and social media […]
Family Member Interview with Lynne K., by Ashley Neal
I have been reading stories of recovery from addiction and eating disorders for a very long time. When I joined the staff at Turning Point of Tampa, part of my job was to find people who wanted to share their story with us. In turn, we share those stories on our website and social media […]
Family Member Interview with Kelly G., by Ashley Neal
I have been reading stories of recovery from addiction and eating disorders for a very long time. When I joined the staff at Turning Point of Tampa, part of my job was to find people who wanted to share their story with us. In turn, we share those stories on our website and social media […]
Running the Show, Going Nowhere Fast, by Beverly W.
I’d like to say “I just decided I wanted to get sober so I did.” Sounds easy enough. I’ve heard it said before “I picked up one white chip and I’ve been sober ever since.” How amazing…..for THAT person! This was not my experience even though it may have been nice to have happened that […]
Recovery is for Family Members Too by Sheryl H.
Someone I love is in recovery from active addiction. Before I started my own recovery journey in another twelve step fellowship I couldn’t say those words. I was embarrassed. When others were sharing stories of what someone they loved was doing, I was silent. I felt guilty. What should I have done differently? I was […]
The Fellowship, by Sandra D.
I have been in recovery since 2002 and I have seen my share of ups and downs over the years. However, last year was what I would have thought would be more than I could handle. I had been dealing with my mother having dementia for several years and just when I got her moved […]
Losing Everything, Gaining So Much More, by Lisa F.
In 2010 my life started to spiral out of control. I lost my job, my daughter, my apartment, my car, my family and friends, my dignity, respect for my myself and my morals – so basically, I lost everything. Nothing mattered to me but getting high and being completely numb; I didn’t know how to […]
A Problem Shared is a Problem Lessened, by Ashley N.
I’ve been pretty grateful over the past 14 years to not have experienced a ton of adversity. Sure, I lived paycheck to paycheck in early recovery. Sure, my partner had a hard time staying sober early on in our relationship. Sure, things didn’t always go MY way, but I was managing my stress and staying […]
My Mind Has a Mind of its Own by Ben W.
“My mind’s got a mind of its own It takes me out a-walkin’ when I’d rather stay at home Takes me out to parties when I’d rather be alone My minds got a mind of its own” These are the opening lyrics of a song written by Butch Hancock and originally performed by Jimmie Dale […]
Painting by Numbers by Eugene H.
The day I realized I was on the right track I had committed myself to a rehab program to seek help addressing my alcohol, crack and heroin addiction of over 30 years. I had been in a lot of rehab programs, all for the wrong reason. My focus was always to either get out of […]
A Message to Alumni, by Hans L.
Dear Alumni, I hope that you are sober and doing well as you read this. I wanted to share something with you that played a big part in my recovery. I was 28 years old when I got sober. I had not planned on getting sober–that was the furthest thing from my mind. The consequences […]
Never in My Wildest Dreams by Joan B.
Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would I be sitting in a recovery business meeting, outside under the stars, voting to close our home group meetings because of a worldwide pandemic! The atmosphere in the meeting was surreal. And we all acted like adults with stellar programs, making rational decisions for the […]
As We Understood Him, by Chris N.
I was raised in an Italian, Roman Catholic household and by the time I was 13, I was staunchly anti-religion. Coincidentally (or not so coincidentally), this happened to be the time when I began drinking and using drugs. From early on in my childhood, I could not understand how a God whom I was taught […]
The Newcomer by Ashley N.
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about the newcomer. Afterall, they are the most important person at any meeting. I’ve also been doing a lot of thinking about the Coronavirus. The Coronavirus brings with it challenges for the newcomer, as 12-step meetings and other support groups are losing their meeting spaces temporarily and the […]
Change, by Ashley N.
As addicts and alcoholics, we do not like change. What’s funny though, is that we seem to always be making changes to our appearance, asking others around us to change and encouraging change when we see injustices. Ironic, isn’t it? Anyway, I digress. Over the past five years I have experienced a great deal of […]
Find Solace Through Sobriety, By Ambre B.
Throughout my life, there have been very few decisions that have had such a profound impact on me as my entrance into recovery. Although I had known about the twelve steps from a young age, I never considered that I would be one of the untold many that would find solace in the rooms. It […]
A Long Way From Home I Found My Home, Anonymous
“Where am I and what have I gotten myself into now?” I remember asking these and some other soul-searching questions when I finally arrived to Turning Point of Tampa for residential treatment. I was over 1,000 miles from home and could barely remember getting on a plane to Tampa from Philadelphia because I was using […]
Holiday Plans by Chris N.
Happy holidays fellow alumni and sober friends! This time of year can certainly provide challenges, no matter how long we have been clean and sober. I would like to tell a story about my first sober Christmas after completing treatment at TPOT. I was just about 6 months sober, still living in a halfway house, […]
Asking for Strength and Receiving Gratitude, by Hannah P.
The word ‘recovery’ to me, means strength. If you are able to find even the slightest trace of it in your soul, you can recover. This may be hard to do when you feel as if your world has crashed to pieces all around you by your own hand, but everybody hits their bottom eventually. […]
Gratitude for Blessings, Big and Small – Anonymous
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year…it’s a time to get together with loved ones, while taking time to express appreciation for life’s numerous gifts. Unfortunately, for many who are in recovery and even for those not in recovery, Thanksgiving and the subsequent holidays can be painful reminders of relationships lost or dreams broken […]
Things heard in recovery, by Jeanne H.
In the recovery community we have a lot of phrases and sayings. They’re not official. Nobody owns them. They’re just out there, author unknown. The phrases and sayings get passed around. You hear one and it means nothing. You file it away with the others, in your head. And then one day it means something. […]
A Talk with God, by Mary S.
Real Recovery started when I finally got honest with myself and stopped blaming others, mainly my mother and husband. My journey began with an intervention on my mother and her drinking. We had to go to some recovery group so I went to Al-anon for a while. Then Adult Children! Both were good places to […]
Admitting Powerlessness, by Laura B.
The first time I heard the 12 steps, I was staring out the window of yet another eating disorder treatment center, watching the already-hot Alabama sun burn away the morning fog. Across the room, a fellow client vaped emphatically, filling the room with sticky-sweet vanilla clouds. She cleared her throat and began: “One. We admitted […]