My name is Aimee, and I am an alcoholic and an addict. This is my story of addiction, recovery, relapse, surrender, and, most importantly, the incredible gift of a life worth living. I was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and raised by my mother and stepfather. From as early as I can remember, I never quite felt right. I never felt like I fit in. I always felt different, as though there was something missing inside of me that everyone else seemed to have figured out.

My name is Zach S. and I’m an alcoholic. My sobriety date is 2/1/16. My drinking began early. What started with weekend partying quickly became an everyday thing. It became more important than anything else in my life. Alcohol and drugs controlled every decision I made in my life. In 2012 I was 21 years old when I had my first trip to the Keating Center. For the next 4 years I bounced in and out of the rock. I was never able to put together more than a few months, sometimes days of sobriety. I treated it like a flop house.

I’m Rachel D, and my sobriety date is June 30, 2023. Growing up was chaotic, but I still had hopes and dreams. I didn’t set out to burn my life down. I just wanted the noise in my head to quiet and the ache in my chest to ease. The first time I put substances in my body, it felt like someone had finally found the dimmer switch on my fear. I didn’t know it then, but I had just handed over my coping to something that didn’t care if I lived or died - only that I kept feeding it. My using was lonely. It looked like promises I meant but couldn’t keep. It looked like saying I was fine while I was bleeding out emotionally. It looked like lying to people who loved me, then resenting them for noticing.

My name is Kyle, and I am an alcoholic. My sobriety date is January 17, 2023, the same day I walked back through the doors of the Keating Center. I was blessed with a wonderful childhood and a loving family that taught me right from wrong. However, when I was 13 years old, my parents divorced, and an alcoholic stepfather became part of my life. Although my family loved me, I struggled with the changes and the loneliness that followed. Instead of learning how to deal with those emotions, I looked for an escape. I found that escape in drugs and alcohol.

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.