Nicole’s Story

My father told me I wasn’t going to rehab.

“It’s only a five-day assessment,” he said. “You’ll be back at college before your holiday break is over.”

I was 20 years old, angry and certain I could prove everyone wrong. I had started drinking when I was about 11, but for years, I pointed to school, work and my responsibilities as proof that I was fine. 

In reality, addiction was quietly making my world significantly smaller.  I withdrew from my family, hurt people I loved, and missed the holidays because I was too consumed by substance use to get home. 

By the time I arrived at Caron, I was exhausted and isolated. When five days turned into residential treatment, I fought it with everything I had.

Thankfully, Caron was willing to fight for me, too.  My counselor saw through every excuse and gave me the honesty I needed. Caron’s approach was about more than confronting my addiction. The team took the time to understand who I was beneath it.

When asked what brought me happiness before addiction took over my life, I could barely remember.  Finally, I said, “Martial arts.”

That’s when I was connected with Eric “Bow Tie” Webber, a counselor who also practiced martial arts. He wasn't even a counselor on my unit, but the team knew he might be able to reach me. He used martial arts philosophies to help me understand recovery. For the first time, recovery was being explained in a language I could relate to.

That is what made Caron different. Some people challenged me. Others reached me through kindness, spirituality or simply finding something we had in common. Together they found ways through defenses I had spent years building.

They cared for my family, too. My parents were divorced and rarely shared the same space, but they both participated in Caron’s family program. That experience changed the way they related to one another and helped all of us begin to heal.

I often say that I had the privilege of being raised in recovery. I returned to school, earned my degree and became a social worker. Today, I have my own practice and help people who have experienced trauma, including first responders. My home is also known as a safe place where people who are struggling are always welcome, much like how Richard and Catherine Caron opened their home to others. 

I married a former boyfriend who eventually found his own way into recovery in part because he watched me find mine. I travel. I go to concerts and camping trips with others on this journey. I have a life filled with purpose, connection, and joy.

None of this is a life I could have imagined when I first arrived at Caron.  At 20, I thought treatment was taking my life away from me. Instead, Caron gave me recovery and a life I didn't know was possible.

When you give to Caron’s Mission Fund, you help make this kind of transformation possible. Your gift can open the door to treatment, provide individualized care, help an entire family begin to heal and ensure support continues long after treatment ends.

Please make a gift today. Help Caron be there for the next person who cannot yet imagine what their life could become.