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My addiction took over my life, which had become so unmanageable that I was ready to end it. I’ve struggled for a few years now, lived out of my car at times, and put the people around me through so much pain and misery. I honestly thought I would never get it together. Normandy House has given me a fresh start.

I grew up in the suburbs, so coming to Normandy and taking public transportation was a change. It has given me independence. I found an amazing sponsor in the area, I have been promoted at work, and I now have my car back! When I’m having a rough day, just being with the girls in the house makes me feel so safe and loved. I have over four months of sobriety, which is the longest I’ve been sober. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I’m so grateful for this opportunity!

– Mia

When life serves you lemon, you get lemonade. I got vodka.

I was happily married for 10 years until my stepson moved in at age 23. And thats all he did, moved in. That was the end of my marriage. Then, my husband moved out with his son, my mother died of a sudden stroke, my 21 yr old cat died and I quit my job after 23 yrs. I didn’t care anymore! Then my husband wanted a divorce, all this happened within 2 weeks.

Then I got a DUI.

Well, I had my vodka. I drank morning, noon and night, sitting on the couch, miserable.  I  moved in with my brother, didn’t drink, my money ran out- so I was on the street. I ended up homeless. I was going to journeys from pads to hope in palatine to see the nurse, do laundry, and shower. There was a counselor there named Julie and she took an interest in me and took me to the miracle house. I couldn’t find a job within their time frame so I was out again.

The house manager there called the house manager at Normandy House and she took me right in, and what a inspiration she was to me. She gave me strength to combat my fears, I wasn’t scared anymore. I met women who were in the same boat as me. I thought I was the only one- What happened to me? I thought God forgot about me. With this sober living house, I started to live again. And thanks to my higher power and Normandy House, I will.

Janis R.

Hi, I’m Kelli and I’m a grateful recovering alcoholic and drug addict. I am here to share my story, in hopes that by doing this, it may help someone else.

I was always a shy kid with a very low self-esteem. I was sexually, mentally and physically abused as a kid and just didn’t feel loved. I ended up becoming a teenage Mom and finally felt truly loved by someone else. I really had to grow up fast. Just about every relationship I had been in with men was unhealthy and I always needed to be with someone in order to feel good about myself. I struggled with anorexia all through my 20’s and depression which I still fight till this day.

One thing I did manage was being a better Mom than my Mom was to me. I have three beautiful kids. The one man that I did have a good relationship with, I married and was happily married for 10 years. My drinking career started when our marriage ended. I started drinking alcoholically at 30 years old. I was a mess and I learned really fast that alcohol numbed me so that I didn’t have to feel the pain or cope with life. Alcohol made me happy, brave and better looking….so I thought. I was broken mentally and spiritually.

The one thing that I lacked my entire life was loving myself and alcohol started to take away the one thing I was good at….being a Mom. It became more important than my kids. It was all I could think about. I couldn’t wait until my workday was over each day so that I could drink until I blacked out. I drank and drove with my kids in the car. This was not the Mother that I EVER thought I would become. I went to my son’s baseball games, my daughters softball games drunk all the time and embarrassed them.

I was then introduced to cocaine at 33 years old and completely fell in love. Well, that helped me reach a bottom very quickly. It completely took over my life and it was all I could think, breath and do. Within 6 months I had lost everything. I hated the person that it made me and the only way I saw out of my addiction was just ending my miserable life.

In those 6 months as a Mother I became non-existent. I knew I needed to get help to stop. I went to treatment and they told me I should go to live in a half-way house, but I needed to hurry up and get back to my kids so that I could be a good Mom again, so I did not go. I got a sponsor and went to meetings, I worked the 12 steps in 6 months then I figured I was cured; I could have a drink or two. Nope! As soon as I picked up that first drink, I couldn’t stop. I got scared and came back to meetings right away.

They kept telling me I had to put my sobriety first or else I was no good for my kids. I just didn’t get that. I relapsed a bunch more times but kept coming back to AA because I saw it working for others. I had yet to realize that I was the problem and I needed to change. I finally tried a half-way house for three months then moved in with a man right out of the half-way house that I had just met. He had been sober for a long time and I thought I was safe, I wouldn’t relapse again.

We were engaged 6 months later then married in another 6 months. I managed to stay sober for 20 months then I had the worse relapse of all. I realized that If I wanted to stay sober I had to work on myself and that it was life or death for me if I didn’t do this. I went to treatment again and put myself in the strictest halfway house around. I lived there for three months and started looking for three/quarter houses so that I could continue to work on myself and have a little more freedom.

I then found Normandy house. The house manager said I could move in there but I had to do 90 meetings in 90 days. I wasn’t happy considering I had just done 90 meetings in 90 days while I was in the half-way house, but I was willing to do whatever it took so that I could get this sobriety thing. It was there that I really realized that I couldn’t do this alone, because living with 11 other women I never had the chance to be alone! It was there that I realized I wasn’t such a bad person and I started to learn how to love myself and that I could confide in other women and they could help me help myself.

It was also there that I realized I could help others too. I lived in Normandy House for 6 months. My kids came back into my life and we became close again. I have learned that it’s ok to put my sobriety first because by doing that makes me a better Mom than if I were drinking and drugging. And I love myself a little more each day. I know now I don’t have to pick up a drink or a drug to get through difficult times and that if I do, it just makes those difficult times more difficult.

Today I have God in my life and with that faith I know he is always holding my hand through everything that comes my way. That faith has brought peace into my life! It’s ok to feel, it’s ok to cry, it will pass as long as I don’t drink over it.

Kelli R.