Originally from Toronto, Patty began drinking and using drugs recreationally as an adolescent. At eighteen she moved to New York City where chance meetings with other addicts opened doors to careers, romantic relationships, the art world and the music scene. For years, whenever the negative consequences of addiction started taking their toll, survival instincts kicked in and she’d return to Toronto. It was a hamster wheel existence – getting strung out and cleaning up – and it relied heavily on the resiliency of youth. By 1987, she was living alone in an abandoned building in Los Angeles, having cut all ties to her former life. It was at this low point she was first introduced to recovery. On December 10th 1988, Patty was admitted into a treatment facility located outside of New Orleans for heroin addiction, cocaine, and methamphetamine use. She was discharged with 42 days clean on the first day of Mardi Gras and has remained drug and alcohol free.
Read more about Patty on her website here
Check out her live video open discussion on Sex in Recovery the first Sunday of each month at http://www.intherooms.com/
1 Comment
Thank you for sharing your experience and about the difference between the process of getting clean and a life in recovery. The second is so different and so filled with possibilities; the former is so painful and challenging. Without learning about the subsequent tools we gather and practice in active RECOVERY we keep going back to what we know. You did a great job of explaining this.