From Prison to Law School to Mountain Rescue Christopher Poulos was born and raised in Portland, Maine, graduated from the University of Maine School of Law in 2016, and is now the executive director of the Washington Statewide Reentry Council in...

Joe K. is one of many men that came to Alcoholics Anonymous through a mandated addiction rehabilitation center. The facility mandated 12 meetings a month but participants could choose which program they wanted to attend. Joe and some other guys...

Marshall Mercer, 40, lost his identity at birth. His parents, both addicts, were never really in his life, and he was raised by his grandparents instead. “I had no identity, just pain,” he says. Growing up, Marshall tried to find his identity...

Staying the Course - A winding road to recovery sends a message of hope That early morning in March 2002, it seemed like every other snowstorm. I was the assistant manager at a convenience store, and they had called me in to cover the night shift....

I am sixty-one years old. Not quite senior, but certainly approaching the cusp. I have reflected on words my father spoke often to my brothers and me growing up in Pittsburgh. “Today is the youngest you will ever be, live like it.” This was a...

When you see silver jewelry made by Portland’s Willa Wirth, you can’t help but notice the energy that radiates from her unique designs. A pendant takes the shape of a cresting ocean wave. Earrings shimmer like real moonlight. A necklace fans out...

Beth’s decision to share her story is motivated by the hope that one person will read this, relate and find some help and happiness for themselves in AA. Doing this anonymously allows her to do it while respecting the 12th tradition of Alcoholics...

Own It, Accept It and Share It Colleen Garrick describes prison as “probably one of the most beautiful experiences in my life”… not something I expected to hear in our interview. The first thing that hit me when meeting Colleen in our initial...

Eleven years. It took me 11 years to painfully claw through just two years of college. My family immigrated to the United States with $100 so my sister and I could access high-quality education. Three generations of female doctors, who lived...

My name is Tania. I am 47 years old and I live in Harpswell, Maine. My recovery spans through different inpatient and long-term recovery houses, recovery programs, halfway houses, and a lot of women along the way willing to support me and my...

Melody Rose Paul’s habit of blackout drinking resulted in many nights in jail cells, but her long, winding struggle with addiction reached a turning point when she found herself alone in prison. “I started to realize… [that] my life path was going...

"I think the biggest thing for me was learning to have fun again without alcohol.”     I like to look ahead and focus on all the positives and the benefits of sobriety, on the things I can do now that I couldn’t do 10 years ago,” says Steve....

Alcohol worked for a while as a way to self-medicate, until the price to pay was too high A person who has desperately needed hope, knows like no other, the power of visible recovery and the hope that is generated from knowing you’re not alone....

What has surprised you the most about sober living? How good it feels! And that I’m never bored! Contrary to my pre-recovery beliefs (that I would never have fun again and that I was doomed to a lonely, friendless life) I have richer experiences...

I’m 33 years old. I grew up in Sabattus, Maine in a very loving family who gave me everything I could have ever needed. Tragically, my father committed suicide when I was 19, and about a year after that, I started using substances to numb myself...

Penobscot Indian Island Reservation Maulian Dana, the Penobscot Nation’s first Tribal Ambassador, made a choice on June 4, 2018 to stop drinking—altogether, forever— and has kept that promise to herself. “Every time I hit a milestone or feel proud...

Having left her foster family at age 14, Amy went through more than 8 rehabs while dealing with addiction and substance abuse. She shares her struggle through addiction, rehabilitation, losing her son and her life and finally achieving full...

Kept trying until he found something that worked Spending much of his life as a functioning alcoholic, Kevin O’Grady knew that he was predisposed to alcoholism as it was present on both sides of his family. Although he partied when he was younger,...

My lifestyle during active use was very dark. There were no limits as to what I would do to obtain my next high. I had used every substance in any manner that I could. I was a human garbage disposal. I was incapable of feeling comfortable in my own...

Alcohol worked for a while as a way to self-medicate, until the price to pay was too high A person who has desperately needed hope knows like no other the power of visible recovery and the hope that is generated from knowing you’re not alone, there...

Courtney Allen remembers the first time she saw the color green. She was 22 years old, a mother of two, and just a few months in recovery. She turned towards one of her oldest friends and said, “Have the trees always been this green?” Courtney’s...

Mike Ouellette says the lowest point of his life was November 14, 2014. He had been struggling for a long time. He had lost his parents to cancer, and a sibling had also been diagnosed with cancer. Mike had moved from his northern Maine hometown to...

John Campbell from Falmouth Maine shares his thought on the journey

Brant Dadaleares doesn’t ask people he hires if they have a problem with alcohol and drugs. The owner of Gross Confection Bar in Portland’s Old Port offers a very specific piece of advice instead. “Don’t try to pull the wool over my eyes because...

Sara Kraus of Harpswell is just finishing work at a local bank. She says she’s nervous about sharing her story – “but if it can help even one other person find their way out of the darkness of alcoholism,” she’s willing. Sara made numerous attempts...

Ninety-year-old Joan Giles has much to celebrate, having been part of Maine’s recovery community for 41 years. Journey’s Amy Paradysz talked with Joan at the Sarah Frye Home, an assisted living center in Auburn, about changing perceptions and how...

Hi. I’m 32 and have lived in Maine all my life. I’m in recovery, and I’m proud of that. I had a wonderful childhood – my parents were generous and very loving. They took us to church every weekend, and my siblings and I certainly were well fed –...

I grew up on a tiny island called Cliff, off the coast of Portland in Casco Bay. A great deal of my childhood was steeped in the magnificent beauty that Maine’s wild places offer. I enjoyed nature, fishing and playing with my beloved cat, Lady. I...

What has surprised you the most about sober living? I was surprised that I can genuinely love myself and live a life where I don’t make decisions for myself based on the approval of others. I remember at one point in very early pre-recovery when I...

Lisa Silverman finds lasting healing through holistic practices and shows others the eclectic path recovery can take. With her unique sense of style and radiant personality, Lisa Silverman has been a brilliant force in Maine’s recovery community...

“There’s hope,” says Eric Sorensen. “I keep it simple. I tell them there’s hope.” That’s what he says when he meets someone living what his life was for decades – using narcotics, drinking, sleeping in back alleys, pulling food out of dumpsters,...

What has surprised you the most about sober living? Finding enjoyment and pleasure in life without the use of a substance. What is your greatest joy today? Being able to be present not only for those around me but for myself. For so long I kept...

By the time Glenn Simpson awoke in a psych ward in Pennsylvania to a nurse putting an IV in his arm, he had lost track of a few fundamentals. He didn’t know what day of the week it was, what had happened to his clothes or how he’d covered the 2,439...

What has surprised you the most about sober living? Coming into Recovery is just the beginning, the life that recovery gives is something I could never have thought up myself (even in my wildest dreams). What is your greatest joy today? My...

What? Who said that? As I prepared to go out for an evening of dinner and drinks, I heard it. Soft and subtle, but not my own. You know that voice that warns you to not go down that street or not to eat that fish because it is not fresh? Yeah, that...

When Melissa Rivera quit drinking, she figured a line or two of cocaine every now and then wouldn’t hurt. Born in Topsham, Maine, to two alcoholic parents, the entrepreneur had perfected the art of self-sabotage early on, walking away from Bowdoin...

What has surprised you the most about sober living? Finding my voice and being honest, open and vulnerable in front of others actually brings people closer together. I always thought that being vulnerable was a sign of weakness, not a strength!...

Jennie Joan Ferrare was on her way to a blackout when a most unusual thing happened: she saw herself drink, as if duplicated by magic, and understood with absolute certainty what would happen next. The exact circumstances might vary. She might wake...

IMAGINE: This morning you noticed that the sun is shining. It’s cold, sure, but the snow-covered landscape is hushed and lovely. Truly, why would anyone want to live anywhere but Maine? Your roommate has made coffee. You’ll be leaving for a...

What has surprised you the most about sober living? That I really wasn't born under a black cloud. The bad choices I made determined the things that were happening to me in life, as the good choices I'm making now are determining all the great...