My name is Leah, and I’m an alcoholic. My sobriety date is July 15, 2025. It isn’t my first sobriety date. I first came through Jean Marie House in 2010, and recovery gave me a life beyond anything I could have imagined. I rebuilt everything—my career, my relationships, and my future. As time went on, I relocated out of state for a career opportunity, and in doing so I slowly separated myself from the support system that had helped save my life. Over time, I began believing that all of the good things in my life were the result of my own efforts rather than the gifts of recovery and a Higher Power.

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.

Hi, my name is Angel A, and I am an alcoholic. I grew up on the rough streets of Parma Heights. I was an only child for eight years and raised by my grandparents and my mom. So I am by nature, spoiled, and entitled. When I was 8 my mom met my dad. they had my brother and sister and it wasn’t all about me anymore. My teenage years were pretty boring. I was always grounded. I picked up my first drink when I was 18. I had a couple wine coolers.. it was my first drunk. I was married to my ex-husband and had my son so I drank occasionally on the weekends. I was out shopping and taking my cousin home and I met the love of my life at a red light on Brook Park Road. He drank the way I wanted to. He took me to my first bar and I loved it. At first, it was just on the weekends then it was during the week. Every chance I got I was at the bar.

My name is Joseph T. My sobriety date is 4/16/24 and I am an Alcoholic. I grew up in southern Ohio on a big farm in a little town called Warsaw Ohio. I started working at a young age and I took my first drink at 10 years old, at 18 I went into the Marines. I did 10 years, after I got out my drinking got really bad I couldn't say sober at home, so I came to Cleveland and fell short a few times.

My name is Glenda C My Sobriety date is 10/07/2024 and I am an alcoholic!  I grew up in Elyria O-H-I-O. I’m the middle child of 7 brothers and sisters. I was raised Catholic and had an uncle who was a priest and an aunt who was a nun. Every family gathering involved alcohol. I took my first drink at eight years old and stole Boones farm from our local corner store. We took it to the city pool and I continued drinking in the woods with the older kids in the neighborhood thinking it made me look cool. But as years passed my life revolved around sports - swimming, basketball, volleyball, and track. 

My name is Bobby D. My sobriety date is 3-17-24, and I am an alcoholic! For almost twenty years, I come in and out of treatment centers, the rooms of alcoholic anonymous, with no intentions on having a sponsor, working the steps, or changing one single thing about the way I lived. For around eighteen years, I tried everything my way. Staying so selfish, not allowing anyone to help me, figuring I could stay sober all on my own. All I did was prolong years of pain and suffering for my family and myself.

My name is Andrea C., and my sobriety date is December 16, 2023. I have a sponsor and a higher power of my understanding. I am the mother of five beautiful daughters. Two of my daughters came through the Jean Marie House and are sober today. They inspired me to enter this program. I am also a proud nana to ten grandchildren whom I dearly love, cherish, and hold close to my heart. I was raised in Garfield Heights and grew up in an amazing, loving family. We went camping, played hockey, and I did well in school. I even made homecoming court. My father was a recovered alcoholic, and growing up, I never imagined addiction would become part of my own story. I began using at the age of 37. I have been married for 43 years, and my husband and I started using together, believing we were in control. Over time, that illusion faded. What began as substance use turned into physical abuse, then verbal abuse. We lost our homes, and eventually, I went to prison.