Hi, I’m Maddie and I’m an addict. I’ve been working a 12-step program of recovery for the past six years. I’ve discovered so much about myself during my time in recovery, including qualities in myself that I never realized I had. I take great pride in my compassion for others and my passion for service. Life with the disease of addiction is not easy. I have to wake up and choose to fight back every single day. My resilience is my armor, and though I’ve been pushed back, knocked down, and sucker punched a few times, I have always found a way to find my way through. I have lost so many friends to jails, institution’s, and death in my lifetime. Recovery is the hardest thing and the best thing I have ever done for myself. Being in recovery comes with its own set of difficulties and learning experiences. Once the fog had lifted and my mind was finally clear, I had to learn how to be myself, authentically myself, regardless of my past. I had to relearn the simplest things like paying bills, having a conversation, keeping my space clean, and keeping myself healthy. I had to learn how to do all of these things without the mind or mood altering substances that had ruled my life for nearly a decade. Choosing a new way of life is painful, sometimes agonizing, but all of the challenges I have faced pushed me to become the woman I am today. For that I am grateful, I am proud of myself for choosing life over self destruction. I firmly believe that love, connection, and understanding are the cure for this epidemic that claims more than 100,000 lives each year. I could never have gotten to where I am today without those three things, from myself and others. Presently, I volunteer at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in their inmate nursery unit. A vast majority of women incarcerated there are addicts caught in a web of domestic violence, of abuse, and substance use disorder. The women who impact me the most are those who are discovering that they can finally be free from the abuse of their past partners and can choose to become the mother they often never had. Today I am chasing my dream of becoming a Nurse Midwife. Without the women in my life I would never have made it to where I am right now. So many of them had to navigate a broken system when it comes to parenthood and recovery. I want to work with mothers struggling with addiction, and infants born into this disease. I want to create a safe and loving space to treat these patients with dignity and respect, instead of the shame that society heaps onto our community. I believe that an addict, any addict, can recover and find a new way of life. The stigma surrounding addiction keeps people sick, keeps them from seeking recovery. I want to work with the women who are still caught in the cycle of suffering and help them to see that life free from this disease is possible. I want to offer the same compassion, understanding, and strength to the women who are fighting for their lives in recovery. We do recover, but we can’t do it alone. We need each other to find our light in the darkness. The solution to addiction is human connection, and what better way to do so than to care for those suffering the most.

Hi, I’m Maddie and I’m an addict. I’ve been working a 12-step program of recovery for the past six years. I’ve discovered so much about myself during my time in recovery, including qualities in myself that I never realized I had. I take great pride in my compassion for others and my passion for service. Life with the disease of addiction is not easy. I have to wake up and choose to fight back every single day. My resilience is my armor, and though I’ve been pushed back, knocked down, and sucker punched a few times, I have always found a way to find my way through. I have lost so many friends to jails, institution’s, and death in my lifetime. Recovery is the hardest thing and the best thing I have ever done for myself. Being in recovery comes with its own set of difficulties and learning experiences. Once the fog had lifted and my mind was finally clear, I had to learn how to be myself, authentically myself, regardless of my past. I had to relearn the simplest things like paying bills, having a conversation, keeping my space clean, and keeping myself healthy. I had to learn how to do all of these things without the mind or mood altering substances that had ruled my life for nearly a decade. Choosing a new way of life is painful, sometimes agonizing, but all of the challenges I have faced pushed me to become the woman I am today. For that I am grateful, I am proud of myself for choosing life over self destruction. I firmly believe that love, connection, and understanding are the cure for this epidemic that claims more than 100,000 lives each year. I could never have gotten to where I am today without those three things, from myself and others. Presently, I volunteer at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in their inmate nursery unit. A vast majority of women incarcerated there are addicts caught in a web of domestic violence, of abuse, and substance use disorder. The women who impact me the most are those who are discovering that they can finally be free from the abuse of their past partners and can choose to become the mother they often never had. Today I am chasing my dream of becoming a Nurse Midwife. Without the women in my life I would never have made it to where I am right now. So many of them had to navigate a broken system when it comes to parenthood and recovery. I want to work with mothers struggling with addiction, and infants born into this disease. I want to create a safe and loving space to treat these patients with dignity and respect, instead of the shame that society heaps onto our community. I believe that an addict, any addict, can recover and find a new way of life. The stigma surrounding addiction keeps people sick, keeps them from seeking recovery. I want to work with the women who are still caught in the cycle of suffering and help them to see that life free from this disease is possible. I want to offer the same compassion, understanding, and strength to the women who are fighting for their lives in recovery. We do recover, but we can’t do it alone. We need each other to find our light in the darkness. The solution to addiction is human connection, and what better way to do so than to care for those suffering the most.

Hi, I’m Maddie and I’m an addict. I’ve been working a 12-step program of recovery for the past six years. I’ve discovered so much about myself during my time in recovery, including qualities in myself that I never realized I had. I take great pride in my compassion for others and my passion for service. Life with the disease of addiction is not easy. I have to wake up and choose to fight back every single day. My resilience is my armor, and though I’ve been pushed back, knocked down, and sucker punched a few times, I have always found a way to find my way through. I have lost so many friends to jails, institution’s, and death in my lifetime. Recovery is the hardest thing and the best thing I have ever done for myself. Being in recovery comes with its own set of difficulties and learning experiences. Once the fog had lifted and my mind was finally clear, I had to learn how to be myself, authentically myself, regardless of my past. I had to relearn the simplest things like paying bills, having a conversation, keeping my space clean, and keeping myself healthy. I had to learn how to do all of these things without the mind or mood altering substances that had ruled my life for nearly a decade. Choosing a new way of life is painful, sometimes agonizing, but all of the challenges I have faced pushed me to become the woman I am today. For that I am grateful, I am proud of myself for choosing life over self destruction. I firmly believe that love, connection, and understanding are the cure for this epidemic that claims more than 100,000 lives each year. I could never have gotten to where I am today without those three things, from myself and others. Presently, I volunteer at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in their inmate nursery unit. A vast majority of women incarcerated there are addicts caught in a web of domestic violence, of abuse, and substance use disorder. The women who impact me the most are those who are discovering that they can finally be free from the abuse of their past partners and can choose to become the mother they often never had. Today I am chasing my dream of becoming a Nurse Midwife. Without the women in my life I would never have made it to where I am right now. So many of them had to navigate a broken system when it comes to parenthood and recovery. I want to work with mothers struggling with addiction, and infants born into this disease. I want to create a safe and loving space to treat these patients with dignity and respect, instead of the shame that society heaps onto our community. I believe that an addict, any addict, can recover and find a new way of life. The stigma surrounding addiction keeps people sick, keeps them from seeking recovery. I want to work with the women who are still caught in the cycle of suffering and help them to see that life free from this disease is possible. I want to offer the same compassion, understanding, and strength to the women who are fighting for their lives in recovery. We do recover, but we can’t do it alone. We need each other to find our light in the darkness. The solution to addiction is human connection, and what better way to do so than to care for those suffering the most.

Hi, I’m Maddie and I’m an addict. I’ve been working a 12-step program of recovery for the past six years. I’ve discovered so much about myself during my time in recovery, including qualities in myself that I never realized I had. One of these that I take pride in is my resilience. Life with the disease of addiction is not easy. I have to wake up and choose to fight back every single day. My resilience is my armor, and though I’ve been pushed back, knocked down, and sucker punched a few times, I have always found a way to find my way through. I have lost so many friends to jails, institution’s, and death in my lifetime. Recovery is the hardest thing and the best thing I have ever done for myself. Being in recovery comes with its own set of difficulties and learning experiences. Once the fog had lifted and my mind was finally clear, I had to learn how to be myself, authentically myself, regardless of my past. I had to relearn the simplest things like paying bills, having a conversation, keeping my space clean, and keeping myself healthy. I had to learn how to do all of these things without the mind or mood altering substances that had ruled my life for nearly a decade. Choosing a new way of life is painful, sometimes agonizing, but all of the challenges I have faced pushed me to become the woman I am today. For that I am grateful, I am proud of myself for choosing life over self destruction. I certainly haven’t had the easiest life so far, but I wouldn’t go back and change anything. I have never been happier or more loving with myself than I am now. The journey to self-love has never been smooth or simple, it requires consistent and constant effort on my part. I firmly believe that love, connection, and understanding are the cure for this epidemic that claims more than 100,000 lives each year. I could never have gotten to where I am today without those three things, from myself and others. The connectedness is what gives me strength to pick myself up and keep trying after every setback, every misstep, and every failure. Because I have seen those who came before me find their way through this crazy world with serenity, I know that I can too. Their strength carried me before I could carry myself. They loved me before I loved myself. They picked me up when I fell and showed me how to try again. They showed me that life free from addiction is possible, and that I can have it if I keep chasing recovery. I am resilient. I know it seems cliché, especially during these past few years. Being in recovery taught me that I can survive even my worst days, the hardest days, even when I feel like throwing in the towel. I have personal evidence that shows me I am capable of finding new ways through the difficulties of my life. I am strong because I choose to survive, to fight back, every day I wake up on this earth. Even though it’s not easy, I still choose life instead of addiction. Choosing resilience is what shows me through the darkest times to the light at the end of the tunnel. Choosing life has granted me something worth fighting for.