My story with alcohol started long before I ever picked up a drink. My childhood was filled with trauma. My mom was an addict, and when I was 16, she overdosed. Losing her broke me in ways I didn’t know how to name. I carried anger, grief, and emptiness that I didn’t know how to process. Drinking became the way I survived.

At first, it was an escape. But soon alcohol became my whole identity. It controlled everything. I blacked out. I hurt people I loved. I became the abuser in a relationship, something I never thought I could be. The guilt and shame of that stayed with me, but recovery has taught me that accountability is where healing begins.

The hardest part is knowing I lost a decade of my child’s life. I quit drinking when my son was 10 years old. I can never get those memories back, and I carry that pain with me. But today, I get to be present. I get to show up for him as the mom he deserves. That gift of presence is what keeps me grounded in sobriety.

My rock bottom wasn’t a single event. It was the slow realization that I was disappearing, dying inside while pretending to live. That was when I knew I had to make a choice: keep drinking and lose everything, or fight to become the woman I was meant to be.

Sobriety has been raw, messy, and real. It forced me to sit with pain I spent years running from. But it also gave me clarity, courage, and strength. I’ve learned how to live without hiding. I’ve learned how to own my past without letting it define me.

Today, I’m a mother, a fiancée, a student studying to be an addiction counselor, and a co-host of Rock Bottom with Ryan. I use my voice to show that no matter how broken your story feels, you can rebuild. Even if you’ve been the one who was hurt, or the one who caused hurt, there is still a way forward.

That’s why this podcast matters to me. It’s not about pretending recovery is easy. It’s about telling the truth, shining a light on the darkest parts of addiction, and showing that healing is possible. If you’re standing in your own rock bottom right now, know this.. you are not alone, and your story is not over.