Sober 4 years since 7/7/2011, Karen was raised in the Boston area by a strong Catholic family, went to Catholic school and always had a faith in God.
Her peers in public high school did not share her respect. Always nervous but raised with brothers and father who loved sports, she became a cheerleader to get into the games free.
She first took engineering at Northwestern but dropped out after a teacher failed her solely because she was female. She still regrets, somewhat, not fighting it.
She was attracted to the pharmacy school because her father had many health issues. She met and married a classmate, made it through Pharmacy school with the help of Speed and moved to Las Vegas with him. Pharmacist were paid much better there than in Boston.
They had three boys and a daughter she loved but Karen got hooked on gambling and later amphetamines. She got below 100 pounds.
The loss of an unborn child got her off the speed but her other addictions, including alcohol, seperated her from her husband and children.
She lost her Pharmacy license several times in Las Vegas despite the efforts of an advocate. Karen could not quit drinking and using.
The turning point began when she quit drinking five or six weeks, long enough to go back to Boston to help care for her dying father.
The last thing he said to her was, "Find God again and everything will be OK."
Karen returned to Las Vegas hoping to quit but got liquor on the way home from the airport.
Her brother and sister-in-law offered to give her a place to stay in Kennesaw, GA and introduced her to Celebrate Recovery.
An advocate in Atlanta encouraged her to take the steps and go to more meetings. She started coming to A.A. meetings at the HOW Place in Woodstock.
Since then, she has gone from a night clerk at a motel to a respected member of a poison center, got approval to pursue getting her pharmacy license, got into a wonderful relationship with fellow Breakfast Club member Corey C and become a shining example of the Power of Faith and persistence.
(41 min) (14.1 MB) (id#1191)