Posts in category: Success Stories

Since being at The Last House, a lot has changed.  My relationship with my family has grown, but more importantly my relationship with myself has changed.  Before coming to The Last House, I was in a very dark place.  My life slightly changed when I tried getting sober for the first time in 2015.  I was not prepared for what was to come, not capable of using the tools I had, and to reach out for help in the community I had built.  After getting in trouble with the law, losing both my mother and father all in a couple of years, I’d lost all hope to live for anything.  I lost my identity and lost the people closest to me too; at the point all I knew was to turn to drugs.  I ended up destroying all relationships with friends in the program and with my siblings as well.  I had no life skills, could not hold a job, and just lost connection with everything.  I was all alone.  However, I couldn’t take it anymore and I finally asked for help.  I got another chance at life and was sent to The Last House. 

When I arrived at The Last House, I had a terrible outlook on life, a bad attitude, and a behavior that was getting me nowhere.  Being in The Last House has changed a lot in me which is not easy to admit.  This was a place I did not want to be at but needed to anyway.  It took a lot of sweat and tears to get to where I am at now (with the help of The Last House community).  I finally put my guard down, stopped fighting against the people who only wanted to help—and took their suggestion.  I needed the structure of being pushed to my limits.  I needed to be broken down and then lifted back up, but that was not easy.  Most importantly, I needed the 12 steps – that was one of the things missing in my recovery from the past.  From all of those times trying to get sober, I had never completed the steps and this time it has completely changed my life.  I really had to be pushed, even forced, to do the things I did not want to do and for me that was what I needed.  All I ever wanted was to be self-sufficient, independent, happy, content, present, and have a relationship with the family that I still have – my two brothers and two sisters who have been a big part of my recovery. 

This is just the beginning — these challenges and opportunities don’t stop.  I am always going to be growing as a person and challenged in life but being at The Last House has given me more tools than I ever had along with the ability to use them.  I am grateful for everything that has happened in my life, good and bad.

Coming into The Last House I was 34 days sober and I was still very desperate for any help I could get.  I thought that I was destined or doomed to die a miserable junkie and that there was no way of changing that.  My hopeless state felt like the only normal one and, today, I am completely baffled at how that has completely turned around. 

My sleep schedule is manageable.  I’m in the best physical shape I have ever been in.  I sponsor other men struggling with their alcoholism.  I’ve held numerous commitments.  I’ve spoken at numerous meetings.  I work as a manager at the very same sober-living I successfully completed.   I have a host of friends in recovery.  I have a better relationship with my family, and I am self-sufficient.  Best of all, I have found a relationship with a power greater than myself.  I have a new outlook on life, and I can’t deny its marvel or wonder.  My future feels bright and I can’t say I have ever felt that way before.

I came into The Last House defeated by my addiction and alcoholism; being in and out of rehabs, sober living houses, IOP programs.  For the last 5 years – the reality of my life and condition hit me like a ton of bricks.  I was a sad, lost, depressed young man who was slowly killing himself.  Although I was so afraid to go to a program like The Last House I knew deep down that I needed to go.  It was a complete shock to me and my ego because I was so used to living in my self-centered addiction.  It was scary because I knew I had to let go of all of my old behaviors and beliefs which was a very uncomfortable thing to do.  It was so easy to live like a victim and a quitter.  Before I got here, I felt that I was special and that the world owed me something.  I thought that I could have the life I wanted without having to put any work into it.  The Last House taught me otherwise.  The Last House taught me that being uncomfortable is way more rewarding that being comfortable.  When I wanted to quit so very bad, The Last House showed me the strength and love of a very powerful brotherhood.  The Last House showed me what real friends are and how holding each other accountable is a life saver for people like me.  The Last House taught me how to show up for others when I didn’t feel like it.  The Last House taught me how to be a responsible, confident and brave man.  Shattering my ego and beliefs of myself and the world helped me the most.  I would have never in my life taken the bus, walked for miles and miles in the hot sun with a bunch of job applications trying to get a minimum wage job.  I would have never let a bunch of guys call me out at a dinner table and sit there in silence. I would have never accepted a punishment for a leaving a cup out.  I would have never held anyone accountable – I thought it was lame and fake.  Little did I know that all of these things I said I would never do, would actually be the best things I could have ever done for myself.  That goes to show that my behaviors, outlooks, and attitudes were completely twisted before I got to The Last House.  I have learned so many beautiful things; so many life-changing experiences during my stay and it is unbelievable the amount of change that has occurred in me in such a short amount of time.  I will forever be grateful for The Last House and all of the amazing people that I had have the honor to know.  Thank you so very much!