RECOVERY STORY OF THE MONTH

My name is Tim, and I am an alcoholic. My sobriety date is May 5, 2025.

I had a wonderful childhood and a loving family that taught me right from wrong. I grew up in the Bedford and Bedford Heights area. We didn’t have a lot of money, but I always had everything I needed.

I had my first drink when I was nine years old and my last drink when I was fifty-two. Alcohol was easy for me to get when I was young, and I never passed up an opportunity to drink. I didn’t drink every day at first, but by the age of eleven I was already planning activities around alcohol. By the time I was eighteen, I had become a daily drinker.

I was a master of deception. I did everything I could to hide my drinking.

I was a master of deception. I did everything I could to hide my drinking. I convinced myself I wasn’t an alcoholic because I went to work every day, never got a DUI, made my bed, took showers, and didn’t live under a bridge.

By the time I was twenty-four, I had given away my marriage and lost the privilege of being with my daughter. I was jobless, homeless, and broke. At that point, I knew I was an alcoholic, and I knew something had to change. The truth is, all I really wanted was for life to stop being so difficult.

I spent the next twenty-eight years in and out of rehabs and hospital detox units. There was no joy left in drinking. I drank alone. I drank to avoid having seizures. I drank because I am an alcoholic. I never had just one drink—I always drank to get drunk. I am allergic to mind-altering substances.

On May 4, 2025, I asked for help one last time. I honestly don’t remember whether my sponsor, my doctor, or I called Marty at the Keating Center, but I do remember three men from the house showing up and walking me to the van. They didn’t judge me. They didn’t look down on me. They simply loved me and told me I was going to be okay.

Today, I try to love others the way they loved me.

I remember Marty telling me I was going to be okay. I believed him, but I didn’t trust myself. Thank God for Alcoholics Anonymous. My sponsor told me that the Keating Center would be a soft landing, and he was right.

For the first time in my life, I truly surrendered.

For the first time in my life, I truly surrendered. I was raw, broken, and completely defeated. I was exactly where God wanted me to be. Today, I know that God is the answer, and the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous are the solution.

I am a grateful alcoholic today. Two weeks ago, I watched my daughter graduate from college. When she saw me, she ran into my arms and hugged me. No words were spoken—just tears of joy.

Today, I have a good relationship with my daughter, my ex-wife, and my former in-laws. I don’t always have happy days, or even good days, but I have peace in my life.

The promises are real. The gifts of sobriety are real. And for that, I am grateful.