M.I.A.
Missing in Alcohol

It’s difficult to estimate how many people are missing their ‘true lives’ because of their addiction to alcohol and drugs. We know for a fact when addiction takes hold—nothing else really matters. It has the power to destroy.

The miracle? Recovery has the power to heal, restore and renew us…no matter what our age. The two young men in our feature story, Ready for the World were quickly spiraling down to complete destruction.

Fortunately, before it was too late, each was confronted to make a life or death decision—either make a complete change—with the goal of recovery, or face the rest of their lives and the consequences of their addiction—alone.

On March 30th, both young men graduated the year long program at V3 Tucson, clean, sober and proud to be in recovery. At the ceremony, Zach and Wright’s families spoke about what hell it was for them to witness the descent of these young lives and the pain addiction brought into their homes.

The joyous part was hearing how hope and gratitude had replaced the nightmares of fear they had lived with for years. It made me think of the hell I put my own family through at age 17. I stayed "missing in alcohol" for another twenty-one years. It still amazes me, I will be celebrating 18 years of sobriety next month.

Arizona Together and Addiction Network TV
We are pleased to announce we’ve partnered with Addiction Network TV (ANT) and will be doing monthly segments which can be viewed at www.addictionnetworktv.com Click on AZ Together TV on the top menu bar. ANT made his debut at the 2007 Art of Recovery Expo and is the creation of Kemper Burt who is one of the forerunners in bringing instant news about addiction recovery live on the internet. It’s an upbeat and fun way to talk about recovery in Arizona and a great way to discover resources from across the country.

The Light of Crystal Darkness
We want to thank all of the generous people who were part of bringing the documentary Crystal Darkness to Arizona. Unprecedented statewide cooperation among competing television and radio stations in the broadcast of this documentary about crystal meth, resulted in hundreds of Arizonans calling for help. The helpline continues to be available at 1-888-METH-AID. If you or someone you know needs help, make the call.

Barbara can be reached at 480-767-7880.