{"id":189,"date":"2014-05-29T16:42:43","date_gmt":"2014-05-29T16:42:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nashvillerecovers.org\/?p=88"},"modified":"2017-07-09T06:21:53","modified_gmt":"2017-07-09T06:21:53","slug":"brett-g-gets-20-years-sober-while-his-daughter-still-struggles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/nashvilleprevention.org\/nashville_recovers\/2014\/05\/29\/brett-g-gets-20-years-sober-while-his-daughter-still-struggles\/","title":{"rendered":"Brett G. gets 20 years sober \u2014 while his daughter still struggles"},"content":{"rendered":"

In recovery, we\u2019re always told that we only have today clean and sober. But I always get goosebumps when I hear people who get 10 years, 20 years or more without alcohol or drugs. I can\u2019t help but feel a rush of hope and gratitude for the people before me who show me how to do this.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of those folks is Bellevue salesman Brett G., who celebrated 20 years sober yesterday (May 28). I asked Brett for some thoughts on his big day.<\/span><\/p>\n

7306 days. That\u2019s 20 years, I remember when I picked up that \u201cwhite chip\u201d all those many days ago. I remember thinking \u201cWhat\u2019s the use? I won\u2019t stay sober anyway.\u201d But, I wanted to be back with my family and this was the only way I knew how.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

When I was a kid, I always ran with the older guys in my neighborhood, and I started drinking the summer before ninth grade. I had a fake ID that I got out of the back of a magazine, and I got served in the liquor store when I was 15.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Brett2final\"<\/span><\/a>Eventually, I spent years trying to figure out if I was an alcoholic. Then one day, I was going to the Indianapolis 500 and I got in a big fight with my wife. I was crying uncontrollably and laughing uncontrollably, and neither one is very good for driving. I knew I wouldn\u2019t make it to Indy.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

I pulled into a friend\u2019s house who was in [recovery], and I had a bottle. And I had that moment of clarity, while I was drinking: I had to stop.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

In the 20 years since, there have been successes, failures, divorce, a business divorce. I got fired, I started a new business in a new town, new love, loss of love, moved seven times in three years and that\u2019s the last three years.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

It certainly hasn\u2019t been all roses, but, I\u2019ve done it all sober and felt everything, good and bad.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

I have real friends today and best of all, I\u2019ve learned how to be a friend.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

If you would have told me then that I would have made it 20 years I wouldn\u2019t have believed it, but, it still was just a daily thing.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The greatest things I can say that got me here are prayer and working with others.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Oh, and not drinking or drugging.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

On my 20th birthday, I got word that my step-daughter, who has three children, left her kids and her house, and I believe she\u2019s actively using drugs today. And it\u2019s causing great pain for me and my grandchildren.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Isn\u2019t that ironic?\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

I had so many people call and text and reach out to congratulate me on 20 years sober. That feels good. And my step-daughter reminds me I\u2019m so close to my next drink, that this disease is everywhere.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Thank you, Brett, for sharing, and congratulations on 20 years \u2014 and on being a good friend to people like me.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In recovery, we\u2019re always told that we only have today clean and sober. But I always get goosebumps when I hear people who get 10 years, 20 years or more without alcohol or drugs. I can\u2019t help but feel a rush of hope and gratitude for the people before me who show me how to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/nashvilleprevention.org\/nashville_recovers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/nashvilleprevention.org\/nashville_recovers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/nashvilleprevention.org\/nashville_recovers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nashvilleprevention.org\/nashville_recovers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nashvilleprevention.org\/nashville_recovers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=189"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/nashvilleprevention.org\/nashville_recovers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":225,"href":"http:\/\/nashvilleprevention.org\/nashville_recovers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189\/revisions\/225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/nashvilleprevention.org\/nashville_recovers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nashvilleprevention.org\/nashville_recovers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nashvilleprevention.org\/nashville_recovers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}