The Time Is Now: Young and in Recovery

The backstory is simple, though may seem complicated to those unfamiliar with addiction. I grew up in Wilmington, Delaware and went through some trauma around the age of 14. By the time I was 16, I had already developed depression, a substance use disorder, and was entertaining suicidal thoughts. At 18 years old and as a senior in high school, I knew that was the year I would die. That's the first of many miracles that recovery has given to me: a second chance at life.

I can't recall many other groups of people who are given the opportunity to live two lives in one lifetime. When I began my recovery later in my senior year, that premise was one of the only common characteristics I could identify between others in recovery and myself. For some reason that I cannot adequately describe, I've been able to stay clean since those dark times and now have the opportunity to live a life that has far surpassed my dreams.

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