Nothing Changed But Me: Real Recovery Stories 48 Hours After Leaving Treatment

In May 2015, a group of men and women, each of whom had experienced recovery at Sierra Tucson, gathered together. A real estate developer, a tech guru, a full-time mom and now recovery specialist, a retired hospitality industry executive, a human resources benefits specialist, an heir to a family business enterprise – none of whom would have had much in common under normal circumstances, yet their paths were intersecting – united with a common goal. As with most people in recovery, each of them understood each other better than perhaps most of their own friends or family could. After all, they spoke the same language. They experienced the same trials. They had lived with the same hurdles of hopelessness. Out of that gathering this book was born. Leaving the safe and secure world of residential treatment, whether receiving help for trauma, depression, substance abuse, anxiety or pain, is like leaving a bubble where everyone understands you – a special world where there is a bittersweet, yet brutal, honesty about who you are and what brought you here in the first place. That is what these 33 courageous individuals in recovery discovered. And yet, they found hope – more hope than they had ever had before. No matter what differing circumstances brought them into treatment, they all had something in common at the end. They each opened the door and walked out a few weeks later to a world that seemed unchanged. But somehow, they have. Nothing Changed…But Me chronicles 33 people who embarked on the journey of recovery and change and discovered that the first 48 hours upon leaving treatment required the same strength and courage they had to muster when they made the decision to go to treatment. Everyone’s experience might be different coming in, but one thing is the same going out: the fear, the uncertainty, the uncomfortable anticipation about a new life that they can live if they choose to keep the light burning inside that was lit during treatment. Can they each sustain the hope? This first-of-its-kind book chronicles those journeys and, more importantly, is an important milestone for supporting those who go to treatment and then leave facing a big unchanged world, and wonder how others do the same. Knowing they are not alone and hearing from people who have told their stories in their own words, in a very personal, open and honest way, is an eye- opener for anyone who has gone to residential treatment, or who has supported loved ones in recovery. The true gem of this book are the lessons learned, the strength summoned, the resilience rendered, and the perseverance perfected that speaks to the hearts of all of us.