Few of us would want to go back to the life we had before use. Many of us have experienced great physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. For us, the only way to cope with this abuse was to be constantly drunk. Others, before addiction took hold, went through situations that may not have been as extreme, but were just as painful. Our lives had no meaning or direction. We were spiritually dead. We felt isolated and unable to sympathize with other people. We had none of the things that give life meaning and value. We took drugs trying in vain to fill the emptiness we felt. Most of us would never want to go back to the life we used to live.
Ultimately the recovery we find in NA is something unprecedented: a chance for a new life. We have been given the proper tools to leave behind the debris of the past. We have support to walk with courage on a new path. And in addition we have been given the gift of conscious contact with a Power greater than ourselves, which provides us with the courage and guidance we have so sorely lacked in the past.
We are recovering in every sense of the word. We're getting our life back and it's better than anything we've ever dreamed of. We are grateful.
