LIVING IN RECOVERY
We asked these clean and sober individuals how their lives have improved now that they are in recovery
BY PAULO MURILLO
MY SANITY
“My life has really improved since I got sober. I have a stable job, I’m financing my own car, I have a group of friends that I’m accountable for, and I love having the right state of mind. The best part is having my sanity back. My family relationships are now very close. My mother passed away in my second year of my sobriety due to COVID and I stayed sober through that. Right now I’m taking care of my brother, so my brother and I are together and my grandmother and my family are very close. My family trusts me now. I got sober because I got tired of disappointing myself and my family and the lifestyle that I know I deserved to have, I couldn’t get it with drugs and alcohol. Before sobriety, life was chaotic. It was toxic. I had a tough time with my ex-boyfriend. I’m an ex-meth user, so there was a lot of paranoia. My health was up and down and I was an unreliable person. I would say the promises of sobriety have come true for me. My life is not perfect. I want more, but for now I’m okay with what I have. I good. It’s better than what I had before.”
—Richard Flenoir, sober since December 3, 2019.
PEACE AND SERENITY
“My life has improved in many ways. I’ve gotten a job. I have a place to live. I have food on the table. I have money in the bank. I no longer struggle to keep afloat. I have peace and serenity. I built my relationships with my family and friends, and I get invited to places now. People are not avoiding me and I’m not avoiding people. I’m not isolating. When I first started getting sober, I had no expectation of what was coming. I had no idea. I did have have 16 years sober in between, but I wasn’t working a program at the time, which is what’s different for me this time round. I was white knuckling it. I was able to stay sober for those 16 years for the cash and prizes, but I didn’t know the true meaning of sobriety. The true meaning of sobriety today is having a mental sense of happiness and serenity. There’s no fighting or trying to keep up with the Joneses. I don’t have to do that today. If I get the cash and prizes, I’m happy, but I’m no longer craving it. I just need enough to sustain myself. What I do need is serenity and I’m grateful for that.”
—Monish Bandodkar, sober since December 31, 2019.
WORTH LIVING
“Recovery doesn’t promise me anything. What it does promise me is a healthy and a fruitful life. Sobriety has allowed me to travel to seven different countries, it has given me back my relationships with family, and I now have quality friendships. Before I got sober, it was chaotic. I was in and out of jails and institutions and I didn’t have a good list of friends. They are what we now call lower companions. Sobriety has also given me a sense of my Higher Power. When I was in Spain, I was questioning my sobriety and my Higher Power. I was getting my tattoo done which reads “By the Grace of God, I am who I am,” along with my sobriety date. So, while I was getting the tattoo done, I met a guy in the waiting room who was also getting a tattoo. I explained to him that the date was my sobriety date, and he said he was getting the date that his 16-year-old brother died from a drug overdose. That was definitely a god shot. So, 11 years sober, and I still create what my definition of my Higher Power is. I learned that in recovery. My life is definitely better sober. It has given me a life worth living.”
—Brian Etter, sober since May 6, 2012.
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