Melissa, with a sobriety date of October 29,2019, shares her story. Paul shares one of his favorite emails.  Dale from Pittsburgh says…Paul, you son of a bitch.  You have completely ruined alcohol for me. Your experience with alcohol may no longer be the same after listening to the podcast!  Don’t worry about the how…that always solves itself.  SHOW NOTES [11:00] Paul introduces Melissa.  Melissa says that sobriety is the most badass gift she has given herself.  The biggest milestone.  She is from Vancouver Canada.  She is 44 years old and has a 12-year-old son and a 1-year old rescue dog.  Melissa has been a business owner for the last 5 years.  For fun she likes to walk in the forest.  [16:20] What is something you want to try out in sobriety?  Scuba diving!       [17:30] Give us a background on your drinking. Melissa had her first drink when she was 15.  She got drunk the first time she drank and the kids at school thought she was cool.  Her parents got divorced when she was 16 and she took the roll of mom to her younger siblings.  In high school she started dating guys that were older and was going to night clubs.  When she graduated high school, and turned 18, she started bartending.  In 1998 she moved to the Cayman Islands and lived there for 5 years.  She drank a lot and her drinking progressed.  When she was 27 years old, she moved back home.  She got married and they had a son.  As she got older, she started to become verbally abusive when she drank.   That’s when the blackouts started to happen.  January 2010 they separate, her son is 3 years old at the time.  A few months later, while she is volunteering a police officer approaches her and takes her back to her house.  Once she is home she finds out that her brother hit a tree while snowboarding and died.  [29:50] bring us up to speed to your sobriety date. 2011…she gets together with a new man.  He was an enabler and he let her drink the way she wanted to drink.  On October 29th, after begging him to give her another chance, she walked into an AA meeting.  [35:40] What was that first meeting like? Melissa says she was a mess.  Two old-timers took her under their wings and she will never forget them.  She went to meetings every single day for the first month. [36:35] What did it mean to surrender? Melissa realized that she was powerless.  The mental obsession was too much and she gave up.  [46:42] What have you learned about yourself?  The most important thing Melissa has learned about herself is that she has so much to give.  [47:28] Rapid Fire Round Worst memory from drinking? Waking up in the middle of the floor and not know what I drank.  What’s your favorite resource in recovery? Definitely the podcast and AA.     In regards to sobriety what’s the best advice you’ve received? Trust the process.  What parting piece of guidance can you give to listeners? You’re not alone.  You might be an alcoholic if... Your 7-year-old son begs you to go to the wine shop after school so he can get the free puck that comes with the bottle of wine you drink.     Upcoming retreats: Bozeman Retreat – August 14-18, 2019 Asia Adventure – January 20-31, 2020 You can find more information about these events here Resources mentioned in this episode: Connect with Cafe RE- Use the promo code OPPORTUNITY for your first month free Sobriety Tracker iTunes Sobriety Tracker Android Sober Selfies! - Send your Sober Selfie and your Success Story to info@recoveryelevator.com “Recovery Elevator – It all starts from the inside-out.”