Lisa A. Ten years

I first started using drugs when I was 14 years old.  It was a long journey to Narconon 19 years later!

Lisa and her family

 Addict in the Workplace

Throughout those 19 years, I always worked. I moved up the corporate ladder; I owned a home; I was raising two beautiful children; I had never been arrested. How could I be an addict? Well, I was! Alcohol, pot, hash, opium, acid, meth, Cocaine—any and all!  I could not shake the grip of Addiction. In ’94 I stopped using drugs, but then I just started drinking more and more, which was actually even worse.  I felt like I was folding in on myself, shaking, crying all the time, hating everything about my life and the people in it.  I thought my girls would be better off without me. I always put on a strong, well adjusted exterior, but I would call suicide hotlines in the middle of the night.

I called conventional treatment centers and  attended out-patient meetings, but that was useless. I just didn’t understand how something I had done to myself could be called a disease. I could not come to admit to being powerless over anything.  I thought, this is it…I’m done…my life is over. I can’t live my life hiding from society in basement meetings where people think that Relapse is okay.  If you’re “recovering,” aren’t you still using?  If you’re an addict, doesn’t that mean you’re still using?

I Had Given Up

I had finally given up all hope of getting better and was truly ready to die.  My last day as an addict, I was blacking out while driving home from a bar at 4 a.m.  I was so drunk I was hanging my head out the window of my car while I was trying to drive and see at the same time.  I found myself staring at this little railroad bridge near my home and thinking, “If I hit it, this will all be over.”

Then I saw these flashing red lights. I was so drunk, but through that haze in my mind I thought, “It’s all going to be okay.  It’s over! Somebody’s here to make this stop.”  I think fate sent me that police officer to stop me from killing myself that night.  20 more seconds and I would have smashed into that railroad bridge wall.  I never want to forget my instant reaction to being pulled over—relief!  It was a sign that it was time to get some real help.  My husband said, “Lisa, just do what you have to do to bring me back my wife. I miss my wife.”

We contacted my parents the day after the arrest and I told them everything.  My parents had gone through my teens with my addiction, but they had no idea that it had continued for so long.  I never saw my father cry until that day.  He was sitting on the floor literally rocking me and put my face in his hands and said, “Just don’t die.  I am not supposed to bury my child.”  He told me he agreed with me that addiction is not a disease—that it is self-induced from bad decision making.  He and my mom called my younger brother and his wife who fortunately knew about the Narconon program.

Re-Starting My Life

When I first got to the center, I was so out of that it took me a week to notice there were huge wall-sized fireplaces on each floor of the 3-story facility!  Once I came out of withdraw, I was so scared—scared about having walked away from my life.  But after a few days of doing the communication exercises, I began to realize that I had just started my life.  I wanted this so bad!

The sauna sweatout program was awesome!  I felt all kinds of drugs come out of my body.  I was especially amazed when I smelled and saw the diesel fuel and chemicals from my place of employment come out.

Okay!  Now on to the rest of the program and all those courses.  I could read; I could understand and apply the data.  It was wonderful to get all those life skills.

A Better Wife, Mother and Employee

I returned home and went back to work at the same company.  I am now a better wife, mother, employee, person, etc.  I have been able to get the Narconon program added to our list of treatment options. I am a contact for our employees interested in the Narconon programs and have also pitched it to our affiliates, e.g. customers and vendors, as an option for their employees.

One of my great successes is one of my friends, Frank.  After I got back, we were able to get him to a Narconon center. He now works for this center, has gotten married and has a beautiful child.  Awesome!

However, I see my greatest success every day when I look into the faces of my family.  My husband, Vince, is now Drug-free and amazing.  But it’s my children that are just the best.  Emily, now 16, and Tricia, now 23, are the best young women a parent could ever dream of.  They are both drug-free, confident, happy, and succeed at anything they put their intentions to!

A Living Testament 10 Years Later

My company has over 40,000 employees worldwide.  Obviously, I’m not the only one who had a problem with drugs. I have become a very vocal part of our work culture in Safety and Human Resources meetings. It was fun teaching the communication exercises to my fellow workers.  I work for the world’s largest transportation corporation, and I am glad I can play a part in helping to keep the roads safe.

I want to thank Narconon, my family and my company for my wonderful new life.   I am here today, after 10 years as a drug-free productive person, thrilled to be a living testament to the power and effectiveness of the Narconon program.

Lisa A.