Walking Through Recovery | Kris’ Story
Kris started using drugs at a young age, thinking it was just what the “cool kids” did. What started as experimentation quickly turned into addiction,…
Walking Through Recovery | Cody’s Story
Cody, from just outside St. Louis, knows firsthand that real change doesn’t happen until you decide to make it happen. “I had been what they…
Walking Through Recovery | Aaron’s Story
Aaron, from St. Louis, Missouri, knows firsthand that recovery is a journey. Sometimes, it takes multiple attempts to get it right. His struggle with addiction…
Walking Through Recovery | Wesley’s Story
Wesley, a St. Louis native, recalls how his struggles with narcotics, alcohol, and a reckless lifestyle culminated in a head-on collision that left him in…
Walking Through Recovery | Jordan’s Story
Jordan from Hannibal, Missouri, found himself drawn into a destructive lifestyle through the guys he started working with, as a young man he was completely…
Walking Through Recovery | Josh Thomas’s Story
A teenage affair with his youth pastor’s wife threw Josh’s life into chaos. He dropped out of school and turned to alcohol, but it just…
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Walking Through Recovery | Devon’s Story
Devon’s struggle began early in life when he turned to alcohol and, eventually, drugs to cope with unresolved trauma. Reflecting on those dark years, he…
Walking Through Recovery | Shawn’s Story
Shawn’s life quickly went off the rails after his father was sentenced to death for murder. Shawn was just 11 years old. Eleven years later…
Walking Through Recovery | Eric’s Story
Eric’s struggles began in his early teens when he started using alcohol and marijuana. He realized that his addiction had taken over when he was…
Walking Through Recovery | Tye’s Story
Tye grew up with an absent father and a mother struggling with addiction, which led to his experimenting with drugs from a young age. After…
Walking Through Recovery | James’ Story
James grew up in a family struggling with addiction. During high school, James began experimenting with substances himself, leading to a lifestyle of drinking, smoking,…
Walking Through Recovery | Scott’s Story
A year ago, Scott visited his family at Christmas for what he thought would be the last time, feeling hopeless and planning to immediately leave…
“The addicted mind thinks differently…”
Spencer Wood believes that his struggle began long before he ever used drugs, noting, “The addicted mind thinks differently.” Throughout his youth, Spencer felt overwhelming…
Walking Through Recovery | Brandon’s Story
When Brandon distanced himself from his family, he fell in with the wrong crowd. That led to using drugs and eventually losing his job, leaving…
Walking Through Recovery | Michael’s Story
Michael grew up in a rough, drug-infested neighborhood in St. Louis. Surrounded by people dealing or using drugs, he rebelled against his strict family. Looking…
Walking Through Recovery | Nick’s Story
Nick’s journey with addiction began at age seven due to an abusive stepfather. Watching his stepfather numb himself with alcohol, Nick discovered alcohol could numb…
“I was tired of living in sin and the bondage…”
Briar, a 26-year-old from Armstrong, Missouri and a recent graduate of the Heartland Recovery Program shares his journey from addiction to redemption. Starting with early…
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“They had to Narcan me seven times…”
While Josh was walking through recovery at Heartland in 2023, the fentanyl overdose death rate in the U.S. topped 112,000 in a 12 month period…
Walking Through Recovery | Wyatt’s Story
Looking for affirmation and trying to impress others was the start of Wyatt’s journey into addiction. Validation soon took precedence over relationships with family and…
“My mother and grandmother could not trust me, they were worried sick about me…”
Starting at the age of 12, Brianna smoked cigarettes and drank alcohol which later lead to methamphetamine and harder drugs. From that point things quickly…
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Walking Through Recovery | Tyler’s Story
Born into addiction as a baby, surrounded by addiction as a child, then seeking validation from his father all led Tyler down a path of…
Walking Through Recovery | Jeff’s Story
Jeff began his addiction at an early age, but in his late 20s his addiction took a serious turn. He felt broken in heart, mind,…
“Getting to the point where he’s going to need his mama…”
Coming from an alcoholic family, Carissa started using meth and coke at the age of 19. When she was arrested on a theft charge, she…
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“I was always up and down, unreliable and untrustworthy…
Roger’s journey to recovery started with his desire to be a better husband and father. “I was always up and down, unreliable and untrustworthy. I…
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“I just kept making bad decisions…”
Austin, started his journey into addiction smoking weed that lead him into downward spiral of bad decisions, stating, “I just kept making bad decisions, and…