I was completely out of options
My name is Corey. I am 33 years old, and I am an alcoholic. I took my first drink at a very young age. I was 10 the first time I got drunk. I certainly didn’t drink all the time back then, but I probably thought about it every day—I couldn’t wait for the next chance I had to do it again. My first blackout was at age 12 and that was also the first time I vowed to never drink again. It only took a few weeks for me to forget about that vow. Over the next 10 years I probably had hundreds more blackouts with the consequences progressively getting worse. They were ranging from simple embarrassment to people I care about, completely removing themselves from my life with many lost jobs in between.
By age 23 I began waking up in jails and hospitals. The next two years were the darkest times of my life up to that point. I was drinking every day, all day. I have burned every bridge I came to. Alcohol had completely taken control of my life. I was literally drinking against my own will and there was nothing I could do about it. I was completely out of options. At 25 I called a family member for help. He had been through Bridge House and acquired the tools needed for a complete transformation, and was living a happy and productive life. He introduced me to Bridge House and I began my journey. I learned a great deal about myself and my disease but still wasn’t yet willing to change so I left early. Over the next seven years I had been in and out of recovery, hospitals and jails too many times to count.
By the time I returned to Bridge House on August 21, 2014, alcohol had finally beaten me into a state of reasonableness—as the Big Book says. In just the short time I have been here, I have already seen a great deal of positive change in my life. All that was needed was the willingness to pick up those same spiritual tools that were offered to me years ago and apply them to my everyday life. Bridge House has given me more than I could ever repay. They gave me a place to call home when I had none and everything I need to survive to begin the journey to becoming the brother, son, father, friend and the man that I all of us deserve to be. I don’t know where I would be without the beginning that Bridge House has offered me. I will forever be in their debt.
Thank You, Corey S.