Seeking stories of recovery in Maine

As a Bangor Daily News reporter and the editor of this column, it has been my privilege to hear some very personal stories about recovery from substance abuse and addiction. Some of these accounts have stayed vivid in my mind for quite a while.

More than two years ago, “Jamie” told me he was in a Bangor parking lot, shooting up the heroin he had just bought with cash he stole from his father’s dresser, when a stranger appeared and offered to help him get clean.

“I hadn’t really ever thought about quitting,” he told me over coffee at a local pizza joint. “But the minute he asked, I knew I was ready.” The last time we talked, this young man had been clean and sober for eight months – one day at a time. It has been a long while since that conversation. I hope he’s still OK.

Not everyone is lucky enough to receive a face-to-face encounter with a guardian angel – or to be in a receptive frame of mind when it happens. Many drug abusers, soul-sick from their addictions, have had to “hit bottom” before beginning the long, hard work of reclaiming their lives. Some have been scared straight by the threat of losing their children, the overdose death of a friend or the possibility of spending time in jail. Some who have been incarcerated have taken advantage of the opportunity to get and stay clean, committing themselves to a lifetime of sobriety. Others have simply looked in the mirror and encountered the face of death.

Some of you may know that September is designated National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month (check out www.recoverymonth.gov). According to the federal Department of Health and Human Services, the goal is “to promote the societal benefits of alcohol and drug use disorder treatment, laud the contributions of treatment providers and promote the message that recovery from alcohol and drug use disorders in all its forms is possible.”

Or, more simply, Recovery Works.

States will offer a variety of activities, including conferences, motorcycle rides, spaghetti dinners and parades. Here at Finding a Fix, we’re planning to spend the whole month featuring Maine people at various stages in their recovery. Which is where you come in.

Whoever you are, whatever has brought you to the point of being ready quit, and however you’re managing it – your recovery is your own. Just as no one made you use drugs in the first place, no one is making you stay clean. No one is forcing you to confront the issues that led you to use. The promise you’ve made to yourself, and perhaps to your loved ones, could be broken in an instant. Maybe you’ve made some false starts. But you keep going back to the meetings, the medications, the church, the personal counseling – whatever it is that’s getting you through.

As someone whose life has been deeply affected by a loved one’s substance abuse, I am in awe of your determination and strength.

If you’ve made the commitment to quit, to reclaim your life and restore your spirit, I want to hear from you. I’m looking for people of all ages who are far enough along in their recovery that they’re ready to “go public.” I’ll want to use your real name and a good photograph, which our highly gifted photo department will capture. I’ll give you a short space to describe yourself and your recovery. We’ll feature two people each week, and if we get more portraits than we can fit into the month of September, we’ll try to use them in future columns.

Finding a Fix has developed a wide and dedicated readership, and your contribution to this special project is sure to move and inspire many people, even if you’ve written to us before. Have you recently graduated from a drug treatment program? Been clean and sober for decades, now a pillar of the community? Are you on methadone maintenance? Making the most of your time in jail? Finishing an interrupted education? Just making it through the best you can?

Regardless of your age, your background, or where in Maine you live, your story has the potential to change lives. Please share it if you can.

(Are you reading this, Jamie?)

Summer is flying past. As soon as you know you want to participate, or if you have any questions, please contact me here at the paper at (207) 990-8291. My e-mail is mhaskell@bangordailynews.net. Or you may write to Meg Haskell, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, ME 04402.

I’m looking forward to talking with you.