Mending Relationships in Recovery with Tom K.

I want to begin this story by admitting that when I started my sobriety journey at Mountainside, I was unable to grasp everything that I needed to stay sober my first time at rehab. I, unfortunately, had to go through the rehab process two more times before I experienced prolonged success.

My story starts like a lot of others:

Alcohol was a part of my life from very early in life. I’m the child of an alcoholic who paid the ultimate price and lost his life to this disease at 59. He was an only child who had eight children, but could never quite reckon with the magnitude of damage he created. It caused a lot of unrest in our lives. I never wanted to become him but unfortunately, I was well on my way. I’m extremely lucky to have resources at my disposal that he hadn’t, and I was willing to try and find a better way.

I will be married 25 years in February and have two sons who are 22 and 24 years old. I really put them through a lot during my last few years of drinking, whether because of my mood swings, embarrassing moments, drunk-driving or lack of presence in the house. I was always sorry, and did try to stop on my own, but I always thought that I could learn how to drink like everyone else. I soon realized that I couldn’t be successful unless I had finally reached my emotional bottom. I made a lot of mistakes, including a couple of DWI’s over a 15 year period, and a loss of a job toward the end of my battle with addiction. I’m extremely lucky that I didn’t lose my career.

My journey to sobriety has been long, but rewarding beyond words. My relationship with my family has improved immensely. My wife and I have weathered the storm and are stronger than ever. My sons are proud of my journey. I have been able to concentrate on my sobriety and health. As a result, I lost over 150lbs in the last year with the help of everything I learned at Mountainside.

I will need to work at this for the rest of my life, and will never be fully cured, but I now have the tools to lead a better life. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, the help is there! You just have to ask and be willing. God Bless!