STAYING THE COURSE
We asked these clean and sober individuals with various lengths of sobriety to reflect on how they stayed sober in 2024, and how they plan to maintain their sobriety in the new year
BY PAULO MURILLO
REACHING MY GOALS
“I had a slip up in 2024 and this time I’ve been honest with myself, my peers and my sponsor. I was sober four years and I did not get honest about the financial wreckage of my past, so I slipped. This time I laid it all out on the table. The relapse cost me driver’s License, so it’s been about getting back to business and hopefully I’ll get my license back soon. Being transparent is how I managed to stay sober after my slip up. I may have lost my job, but I gained a new one that I love. I work with helping people on Skid Row and it makes me very humble because that’s where I come from. I didn’t have anything and now I feel like I’m reaching my goals. I have something to go home to and to look forward to. In 2025 I plan to stay sober and start driving again. I will keep being honest, I will embrace turning 42 and to give back and and stay plugged in, and continue doing the work. It’s going to be great year.”
—Richard Flenoir, sober since February 25, 2024.
BACK TO BASICS
“2023 and 2024 were very hard years. My mom got sick, I went through a super long breakup and one of my close friends relapsed. I basically got back to basics. I got a home group, I got in touch with my sponsor, I did service and did the things people do when they are newcomers. They say that Bill W forgot to mention in the Big Book that we should exercise, so I have doing that, exercising. Going back to basics was tough because I’ve been sober for over 20 years now and I didn’t want to be seen as the someone who’s struggling. I felt a little bit vulnerable, I had just moved to LA, so I didn’t have too many friends, most were in New York. In 2025, I’m going to keep coming back.”
—Mike Nelson, sober since February 18, 2004.
I’VE BEEN THERE
“I stayed sober in 2024 by going to meetings, staying connected, being of service, doing my 12-steps work, and I do gratitude lists every morning. I really enjoy the work that I do today. Being of service and giving back to the community is important. I work with celebrities, but I also handle nonprofits and I find that rewarding, because the nonprofit clients I work with are people on Skid Row. Doing that kind of work always puts things in perspective for me. I’ve been there. I was just at the LA Mission the other day and I remembered, when I was out using on Skid Row, I called the LA Mission for help, so being of service felt great. Today, I like to keep things in perspective, especially during holidays or when I turn another year sober, because my life was just unmanageable; it was a horrendous living…I plan to stay sober in 2025 by remaining grateful, continuing to do the work, going to meetings, meeting with my sponsor, and just staying connected with people, being healthy, and let the rest fall into place.”
—Samer Saah, sober since July 18, 2016.
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