Ashley

I've always been a little bit of a party girl... Always the one to keep up with the guys. It was ok in my 20s but after having a baby, it's not so cute. By that point, unfortunately, I was deep in addiction as a highly functioning alcoholic. Since my late 20s (I am 36 now) it's been a roller coaster ride with some periods of normalcy and other periods I hit so low it's truly embarrassing. Everything suffered. My health, both mental and physical. All my relationships. The beginning of 2023 was starting out "ok" and I foolishly told myself I could moderate. It went fine for a time until the middle of May 2023. We tragically lost my father in law in a plane crash. He was a wonderful man who always treated me as his own. Trying to be strong for my husband and daughter, I put on a brave face and coped the only way I knew how; WHISKY!! The remainder of the year is a blur. I was drinking 8-10 shots every night... The final straw was December 2 2023. I had promised my daughter that we would go to our towns annual Christmas tree lighting/parade but after waking up at 2pm following a night of drinking I didn't have the energy to go. It broke my heart when I told her because I knew she was disappointed but worse yet was the fact that she KNEW WHY we weren't going. I stopped right then and there. At one month sober, I bought myself a beanie from your company. Now that I'm 2 months sober, I've treated myself to one of the flannels. I plan to continue this trend and wear my demons behind me gear with pride not only for my own journey, but for all my brothers and sisters who have or are struggling! As for me, I'm leaving my demons in the past.