“Before I sent my son to New Life House, I spoke to a few alumni families to hear how their experiences were like in having their sons go through the house. The consistent message these moms told me was that they got their sons back and their sons gained a new purpose for their own lives in sobriety. I remember how I longed for those words to be true for my son as I saw his drug addiction spiraling down. Right before my son turned 18, he overdosed and spent another round of ER visits. That was the turning point for my husband and I to decide to send him to New Life House.
When my son was using drugs, our family was in a constant state of perpetual stress. How my husband, younger son and I coped was by staying in our own little corners. We had inadequate tools to battle his addiction that was driving our family to insanity. We walked on eggshells and didn’t know when the next overdose or violent outburst would occur.
I am grateful to have found New Life House through an Al-Anon parent who sent her son to New Life House a couple of years back. After a year and a half in the house, my son is a graduate and preparing to move out of the house to continue his recovery journey. Having my son back became a reality. The high structure, accountability and brotherhood of New Life House transformed my son. I can have an adult-like relationship with him now. We can talk and share openly what we are learning in life. He has his fair share of struggles, particularly in the latter months in the house as he encountered challenges and setbacks due to the pandemic. The challenges and setbacks were real opportunities for growth for him and for me. I am grateful that he has tools he has been learning from working the program in the house and a strong community of brothers who are committed to supporting him through thick and thin sobriety that he can lean on to work through life’s challenges.
My son’s recovery work does not fall solely on him for our family to be well with each other. I have my own recovery work as well. New Life House doesn’t just work with the addicts in the program. The program knows from experience, the role parents play in their sons’ long term recovery when they engage in their own recovery program. Throughout my son’s time in the house, I got to witness his transformation, particularly when he made amends with me to take ownership of his part in his addiction. That inspired me to work on my own recovery and I decided to get a sponsor to go deeper in my own recovery. I am beginning to learn more about myself and being aware of behaviors that lead me to unhealthy behaviors. I am also grateful for the weekly Tuesday night parent Zoom meetings where we have as a safe space to share openly about our own enabling, fixing, rescuing behaviors and support each other in our respective recovery work. I am grateful to have fellow parents as companions to travel together on this road to recovery.”
Pam C.
Last Updated on February 23, 2024
