Testimonial from Carrie B.

I came to the Orchard on March 23, 2008. It was my last stop on the block. My addiction had robbed me of all hope and the one thing I wanted the most.

Taking that long flight, drive, than ferry ride, the thought crossed my mind more than once “what am I doing here”. I wasn’t really going to stop – slowing down the drugs, and maybe not drinking quite “as much” is what I had in mind. The first few days were a fog (my sober date is March 24, 2008). I vaguely remember going to my first AA meeting and getting my 24-hour chip (which I still have). By day three something happened. I was sitting in the cafeteria – and the sun beat down from the sky light on me, and I said to myself; “I can never have just one”. I got it – Step One.

I vowed from that moment on to give sobriety a one-year chance. It was, and is, the hardest thing I have ever done on my life. I had not gone a day without drinking since I was 16 (I was 32 at this time). The Orchard walked me through the first three steps. They helped me in being able to talk about the root of my disease. They helped me start to see the light inside me, and in others. They taught me how to start to love myself. Needlesss to say I gave it the one-year and was absolutely amazed at how quickly my life changed – for the good mostly how I felt about myself. And how I realized that I was worth it.

In the last few years, sadly more than a few friends didn’t make it. I have been to three funerals within 6 months of each other, all from losing people to this disease. They all tried, as do I. I often wonder why I have made it, coming up to 4 years, and I can honestly say, the foundation The Orchard helped lay down for me; meetings, the steps, spirituality, and being comfortable to share about what is going on with me, I know these things saved me.

Thank you to The Orchard for help me in finding a life I never could have imagined, and I life I never even knew I wanted until I found the beginnings of it there.