Addiction Experience: Prisoner
My life coach was always there or would ring me back. I have lived a violent life and the coach understood this. My coach understood where I was coming from and helped me to make sense of it all. I am clean now. For ten months I had been clean nearly all the time but relapsed. It made me aware of how much I needed the programme. I am working now and I have faced up to my responsibilities. It is a lifeline for me and many others. I have never worked much before recovery or being able to hold down a job for long.
I have been in Borstal or Prison for most of my adult life till I got recovery. My mam and dad were addicts and alcoholics. I was subject to their illness from a young age and this lead me to foster homes and kids homes borstal and then to prison. I knew no better for a long time and repeated the mistakes that they had made. I had endless excuses why I used drugs and could see little possibility of a life outside what I knew. The 12 Steps have taught me that I don't have to repeat the mistakes of my parents and though I loved them I did not want my kids to follow in my footsteps. They have helped me to cope with my past and deal with the present and look forward to a future!
