If you attended Portraits of Recovery on March 10, 2010 please fill out our follow-up survey. Please take a moment to read some of our stories of recovery. Start by reading the story of Ginny O'Keeffe, an founding mother and Amethyst CEO: |
Ginny's Story:
I grew up as the child of an alcoholic. I was a troublemaker and never knew when to shut up. It was a negative way to get attention. The situation at home left no money for college tuition, so college was not an option for me. I wound up working on Wall Street at age 17. I worked very hard and became a highly successful executive. But I defined myself by my work and began drinking to fit in. I drank. It seemed like everyone drank. I was one of those people who could drink anyone under the table. It fed my low self-esteem, and was an early warning sign of addiction. Over time and through the loss of jobs, marriage, and raising a child, my drinking escalated. One day a friend confronted me about my life and I realized I was going to lose everything. I reluctantly entered into recovery. When I relapsed after two years, it taught me that I had to address the issues of being not only an addict but also a survivor of sexual abuse. " The past 25 years of Ginny's life have been wholeheartedly dedicated to improving systems that effect women and children healing from sexual abuse and those in recovery from alcohol and drug addiction. Her focus has been on advocating for women and mothers who are low-income, homeless, imprisoned, battered, or abandoned. Her message is not popular. It's easier to live if we don't think of the horror of incest, rape, sexual abuse, and the degradation of women. It's easier to believe that women choose to become addicted to drugs rather than to recognize that it's a way to dull the pain of trauma. It's easier to make policies if we don't have to take into account the essential needs of women and can keep doing things the way they've always been done. Nevertheless, she continues the work each day. |
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