Synchronicity is a funny thing; often you don’t see it until you look back at a series of amazing coincidences and suddenly see all of the puzzle pieces fitting together to bring you to where you are now. For me, my journey to recovery started with a glass (a large snifter actually) of brandy and the Handbook to Higher Consciousness. In retrospect, I see that that minimal effort while seriously drunk, was enough to set in motion a series of events which led, in relatively short order, to recovery from alcoholism and drug addiction. It started with a conversation over drinks (how else?) that included my sad tale of woe about an abusive relationship and loss of career. In response, my friend surprised me by asking if I’d grown up in an alcoholic family. He said my story was pretty typical of adult children of alcoholics. (You mean I’m not unique?!?) Actually it was a relief to find there was a place where I could fit in and people would understand the depression, fear, anxiety, and crazy thoughts that lived in my head. I was delighted to have finally found the answer to the emotional pain that had plagued me for years….I was an Adult Child of Alcoholic parents and a grandmother (or does everyone’s grandma keep a plastic cup of bourbon in her underwear drawer?) There were ACA meetings where people much like me shared their experience, strength and hope of recovering from the emotional scars of having grown up in the insanity of family alcoholism. My friend Michelle and I would leave our ACA meeting and go out drinking and talking about how amazing ACA meetings were!
Then more synchronicity. An attractive, successful-looking 30-something woman (like me….or at least how I aspired to be) shared at my ACA meeting that she was also an alcoholic and realized it when she saw that she “could not control and enjoy her drinking.” I’d been out of control for a long time, but I always thought I could quit if I wanted, I just never wanted to…how would I numb the pain? Well, the next time I drank, I just kept drinking, and every time I decided I should stop I couldn’t seem to stop. And I knew then that I was one too. At the end of a three day round-the-clock binge I virtually fell into recovery like Alice down the rabbit hole. I called AA who sent me to an Alano Club, where I met someone in a recovery home, who gave me the courage to interview, resulting in my residency at The Turning Point Home. And there my new life began. Home at last. Safe at last. At Turning Point I was helped back to physical, mental and emotional health. I grew up in Turning Point. I learned to take on daily responsibilities (chores) and to be accountable if for no other reason than to avoid getting a “consequence” (usually consisting of doing dishes or doing pet patrol.) I learned to plan meals and to cook (for 20…dinner for two is still a bit of a struggle.) I got the courage to go back to school to investigate changing careers. I got my first job in recovery, (light typing that I was barely able to do, my mind having been so pickled by alcohol.) Eventually, with the support and encouragement of Turning Point staff, Cortez ‘Corky’ Carpenter and Judy B., I was able to return to my profession in the law. Since I was still living at Turning Point I still had to leave work in time to go home and do dishes but that helped motivate me to move out after over a year. That was some 20 years ago. Not a day goes by that I don’t look back with deep gratitude for the amazing chain of events that led me into recovery and this fabulous life of sobriety. I thank Turning Point for giving me a safe, loving home where I could heal and grow into a healthy, functioning, contributing member of society.Thank you Turning Point!
