Surrendering to Sobriety with Jen S

When I entered Mountainside for the third time 3 years ago, I was broken and tired and just wanted all of it to end. I remember one of the staff members doing my intake asked me what was going to be different this time. I didn’t have a real answer for her, except that I was done with the merry-go-round of being in and out of treatment.

This past weekend I celebrated 3 years sober and looking back, I can tell you exactly what was different. For the first time in my recovery journey, which had started some 5 years before that date, I was ready to listen to the advice of others and to stop inserting my own will into every decision.

So much has changed in my life since then. I went back to school, repaired relationships with my friends and family, and got a job where I get to help people just like myself every day. I had the incredible experience last December of getting to travel to Israel with some of my closest friends in recovery. And while there was a lot of drinking going on around us throughout the trip, I was able to remember every second of the life-changing experience I was a part of.

My sister, who 3 years ago wouldn’t even answer a phone call from me, invited me out to California last month after she had a baby so I could meet and play with my new niece. I am so grateful for the life I have today and my job in the recovery industry where I get to feel like I am making a real difference. None of this would be possible if not for Mountainside helping me find recovery.