Claire lost everything to trauma and addiction - even her sons. Everyone thought she wouldn’t make it, but she fought for her life... And one year after rehab at Avenues, her son returned from the military to give her a coin, and a second chance.
I'm a cult survivor and I have a terrible trauma history, and I drink to quiet that. And that was my excuse, that was my shield. I could not get out of it. The Claire that you see here was covered with shame and guilt and regret and pain and alcohol. It was all piled up so high and I thought that's what I was, all those pieces. I was dragging it around. I was a menace to myself and to society. I got in here the fourth time, and they looked at me and they said, she's not gonna make it. Call the hospital.
As a consequence of my drinking, both my sons who were in the military asked me to please not call them sons anymore. They said, you're not our mother. That's six months ago into my sobriety, I got a FaceTime call from North Korea. And my son lost two of his soldiers to suicide. And he said, Mom, I'm very angry at you, but I have to see your face. And we started talking. Mother's Day, my son came around the corner and said, I thought I would find you here. And he gave me my one-year coin for sobriety.