This week, we sit down with Emily — whose journey shows that sometimes the turning point isn't a dramatic bottom, but simply reaching a place where you can’t run from yourself anymore.

Emily came to California from Virginia wrecked by heroin addiction and years of toxic relationships. With nowhere left to turn, she took a desperate flight west with her ex-husband — and by sheer grace, crossed paths with Gene, a man from AA who would become her sponsor, mentor, and anchor. Gene welcomed her into his home and offered not comfort, but structure, discipline, accountability, and a spiritual foundation she’d never had before.

She started over with a get-well job at Fatburger, showed up to meetings every day, and began rebuilding her life from the ground up. And while she struggled deeply to trust women — or trust herself — Emily slowly learned to soften, surrender, and let the program reshape her from the inside out.

A pivotal chapter of Emily’s story came at two years sober, when she lost her brother to addiction — and only months later, her stepmom. She shares the raw reality of walking through profound grief without ever wanting to drink or use, and how the love and structure of AA became the safety net that carried her through. Instead of collapsing, she leaned into service, meetings, and her program — proof that a solid foundation in recovery can stand firm in the hardest storms.

Emily also opens up about how her disease showed up in early recovery — and how she needed someone who wasn’t afraid to tell her right from wrong. Gene gave her truth and tough love; today she has a woman sponsor who guides her with gentleness and compassion. Both styles, she says, were essential to her becoming the woman she is now.

Now building a life rooted in honesty, accountability, spiritual practice, and service, Emily is proof that when you stop running and say yes to guidance — life becomes something sacred, steady, and worth staying sober for.