After the loss of his beloved older brother, Zach turned to addiction to cope with the pain. Discover his powerful story of recovery, strength, and overcoming grief.
Hi, my name is Zach. I'm an alumnus from Avenues at Clarksville.
When my brother passed away, I tried to take on all the responsibility, the brute, the strength, and not be so emotional. So I pushed a lot of emotions away and finally got to let go of a lot of trauma from my brother through this program.
It was the hardest moment of my life. He was my idol, and I lost him, and I spiraled.
It was my birthday, and I was looking at somebody I didn't recognize in the mirror. I was ashamed of who I had become. It was always like I had to be somebody else to feel important. And as soon as I came here, even being what in my opinion was just a terrible individual, they loved me for me and helped me build who I am now. They made me feel like I was important, like being me was enough.
When I lost him, I just, I was angry. I wanted God to take me instead of him. He was my favorite person. But it's more of a reason to keep pushing forward for me now than ever.
The fun that I had here was something surreal. Weekends here, we went outside, did walks, we grounded ourselves… I didn't think there was fun out there. But here the unity we had… We laughed and joked about stuff like we were kids, and I loved it. It's my favorite place in the world.
Just know that it does get better. When you lose faith in this program, somebody will be by your side to help you through. There are many people out there like you. Me as in one, I didn't know anything about recovery. But somebody gave me that one little push, and my life has never been better.
My name is Zach. I found my way home, and you can find your way home too.