Reflection Collection: Sobriety

By Donna Arlene Wudyka

This is a story of a recovering alcoholic who wants to share her experiences with you. At times what is written in this book is deadly serious and, at the same time, funny. You’ll laugh out loud and you might shed a tear or two. If you are an alcoholic you will recognize yourself in these pages. You will get the support and education you need to stop drinking and maintain a sober lifestyle. If you know or suspect someone you love is an alcoholic this book will be valuable to you as well. The author gives you information that helped her get sober and stay sober for over 37 years.
The author began drinking at the tender age of 9. She had one drink and realized she liked the taste of alcohol. Even at that young age, she managed to get her hands on booze. During her teen years, the drinking became worse. She lost a 4-year scholarship when she decided drinking was more important than not drinking when she played on the high school baseball team. The drinking only got worse after that until she hit her ‘rock bottom’ moment and resolved to begin ‘Sobriety’.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: May 18, 2020
• ISBN: 9781728362427

Donna Arlene Wudyka

Donna Arlene Wudyka was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. She is 56 years old. She was a Police Officer in Detroit for ten years before retiring due to severe emotional trauma and PTSD. This occurred after a fellow officer was shot and killed during a routine traffic stop. She was standing beside him when it happened. After 27 years of her relationship with Sharon Hempel, in 2015 they were able to marry legally. In 2020 she is still married to the love of her life. They have a Rhodesian Ridgeback, Border Collie, Lab mix dog who will be turning 3 years old in October. They live in the Metropolitan Detroit Area.

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© 2020 Donna Arlene Wudyka. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or

transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse  08/26/2020

ISBN: 978-1-7283-6243-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-6241-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-6242-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020909155

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in

this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views

expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the

views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

DEDICATION

T his book, Sobriety is dedicated to Sandra, my mentor from day one. With her tough love and support. She taught me how to build a strong sobriety foundation. I know for a fact that I wouldn’t have made it this far in my sobriety. Some recovering alcoholics have a tendency of hanging onto drama, stupid shit. This could lead to drinking over it. Sandy’s famous saying to get over that drama is embedded in my mind for life IT’S NO BIG FUCKING DEAL. So, thank you for that. It has helped me on some of the self-pity issues that happened in my life. Although, I have experienced situations to be a big fucking deal. Then we would solve them accordingly. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I Love You More!

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Also, I would like to dedicate this book to my soul mate, my wife, and my best friend Sharon Hempel. We were able to get married legally on July 28, 2015. We have been together since 1988. I don’t know how or why you stayed with me, after all these years, during my alcohol cravings, mental illness, PTSD, anger, rage, depression, just to name a few. During these years we have gone through hell and back, but we have had victories as well.

I’m not going to lie, there were more times than I wanted to admit that, I wanted to jump off the wagon. I was ready to throw in the towel and completely give up. With all your love and support, you held me together just long enough to remain sober for that moment until I was strong enough again. I love you to the moon and back. I couldn’t have done it without you. After all these years, here you are still with me. It must be love, as the saying goes, Love Conquers All I love you always and forever. The best is yet to come.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I t is very important to acknowledge Cindy Collins, Sandra’s daughter. Cindy played a crucial role in the beginning of my sobriety. Cindy had a warm and gentle soul, one like no other. It was her compassion that shined so bright. She went above and beyond, I am forever grateful. Unfortunately, Cindy lost her battle from brain cancer in 2018. She was a true honey badger. She will be missed by many and never forgotten. I miss my friend. Love you so much.

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Thank you to my editors Debra Geib, Renee Beauchamp and Sandra Collins. I don’t care how many times I went through this book I still had mishaps. I appreciate your expertise and opinions, couldn’t have done this without your help. Thank you so much. Love you all.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

W elcome to my dream, which is in the process of coming true. This is the first book of my series Reflection Collection. The Reflection Collection will bring entertainment to you as well as allowing me to share my experiences. I wrote this because I want to help those who may be struggling with addiction and trying to find help and to those who may need a couple of suggestions. I have no PhD and I’m not a therapist. I have experience and I kind of know and feel what some of you may be going through. It baffles me when people write about or