Dear Heroin

Before I start this letter, I just want to give a brief background on why I chose to write this. I know in treatment, at some point or another, we all have probably written a letter to our poison of choice. I just want to be clear this is not that type of letter. Instead, this might as well be a declaration. Recently, people in my life have fallen victim to addiction again, and I felt that I needed to put my thoughts on paper and use this opportunity to speak freely.

Dear Heroin,

You have left me no choice. Maybe it is because you know that I can beat you. Maybe you are starting to feel the pressure because people are getting stronger and are sharing their strategies for defeating you. You know what? That’s what I realized. For each person who defeats your miserable grasp, you try to take someone else prisoner. You try and try to take out the people who defeat you by affecting their loved ones or attempting to take someone too young. I’m here to tell you that your reign is over.

I wanted to get involved in this field to help people. I believed because I got sober at a young age, it was my calling to help people. My purpose is clear now. My path now is to make sure more and more people are able to break free from the hooks that you put so deep into them.

Heroin, you should be terrified. You should be desperate. You know me very well. Let’s not forget that. You know me, you know my friends, you know where I come from. So that means you also know I can beat you. You know the strength that people can possess. You know that when someone who was once within your hold beats you, they can help others beat you. Time and time again, I have seen people fall back into a toxic relationship with you. But the fact that they aren’t staying for long is a sign of hope. The spell you have over these incredible human beings – myself included – is coming to an end.

We will recover. We will beat you. I promise that those who fight you every day will beat you, or give strength to those who need it. My name is Mike, I am recovering addict and alcoholic, and I just want to say there is hope. Each day alive brings hope.