Hello there. I'm Katie. I'm an alcoholic.
I'm going to get centered here for a minute.
First of all, thank you for having me.
I just wanted to hear that again.
I want to thank Oscar for asking me to share
and to tell you my story.
First of all, let me just get out of the way.
I am literally exhausted at the same time.
I went last night, or yesterday,
I went to India with my family to speak at the
ABC Recovery Center.
There were 50 of us that were infected.
We went and participated.
It was great.
I got in.
I had the time of my life.
I was standing on all days,
straight from there.
It was all a stupid area,
so I can't promise you exactly
what I'm going to do today.
It's been good because it's not
too severely like this.
And then I've been having a lot of coffee
outside until now.
I just wanted to clear the air,
go down there.
I feel like I can go home.
I've already had so much.
Thank you so much.
Thank you, Dan.
Your shares were excellent.
My story and your share is very different
from most of yours.
I also really can't describe everything
I have to say about the amazing things
about this program.
The ability to believe
in purpose and the feelings
that are going on with it.
So, we'll see.
My sobriety date was July, 1997.
My answer is
to be a W and
send you a meeting
with a speaker.
You could see.
Sorry.
I have one for the staring at me right now.
Sometimes I draw a blank
and then have it.
Let's see.
I don't know.
I'm
in some family
of alcoholics.
I will just start off.
You should mix it in.
So, I just think, you know,
I've been married
since I was in the family.
Yeah.
I have, you know,
girls and
and
people that are
and also that are
active in their family.
And so, you know, it was just
a suggestion.
And
I didn't even realize it until, you know,
it's absolutely
my plan for alcoholics.
And starting to hear
my family members tell me
my father was an alcoholics.
But other plans, you know,
you know,
Sam died
in my 1950s.
Hearing the things
I should do, I was like,
that's mean.
And it was telling my story.
So, it's, you know, just kind of amazing.
Yeah, there's
a huge family.
So, a lot of, you know,
in the family. So, yeah, just
interesting family dynamics.
But my family,
she got so big
before I was born.
She has been
so, you know,
active in the family.
See, as a kid,
you know,
I was a very little child.
And, um,
I was a sweet boy.
I was born on the street.
If you made fun of me,
I would cry.
You know,
sitting in the stands, right?
So, I mean,
it was a very, very big party.
And it was very,
I think it was,
I went to school.
And they had a song
about me being a puppy dog.
And they would sing,
how much is that,
and they would sing
one or two songs.
You know,
it was a very big party.
You know,
it was a really big time,
I think.
So, you know,
it was a really big time.
Any other questions?
Yes?
Female question?
Ah,
Len,
you can jump in.
Thank you so much for joining me today.
you know, stop pretty much at that point. I had also grown out of it, you know, started to
and I started to become somewhat accepted by the populace now. My first killing auntie was
one of the most popular people in the house. She was spending a minute at my house
and she was pretty bad about it. We could tell as though there was some fighting that we had
and I just kind of sat there. No one really knew me. So my friend, you know, she spent the night.
I also happened to have some kind of issues in the thread. Yeah, I started thinking, I mean,
there would be extremes. I think there would be for it, like screen time. I never, I never
used to do it that much. I mean, you know, some of the extremes I would always think about. So I
knew these things would happen.
But, you know, we knew it was just for the criminal issues. And I thought she knew how to
talk to me. And I was really shocked about it. And, you know, talking with those is as natural
as breathing. And we think maybe it's just a little bit of something. And I feel since I
discovered you can just take a little bit back and put up a puzzle. And so that's how I changed.
And I don't know why I'm looking at that way. I'm trying to get a
passion.
But that's, that's, that's just about it. Because I was, I was trying, I was used to watch,
I was sort of come out of my shell. I, you know, I like to fancy myself a pretty funny person,
pretty witty, so nervous to be able to post out my humor on you guys, because I was so shy.
I would put that inside me really thinking, like, I wish everybody could help.
But, you know, it took me years, but I got things that were actual, you
can't just go on and on about myself, to say like, how funny I was, and how funny I was.
And everything, like, gosh, I was great.
You know, I used all my best material and I just, you know, I was funny.
And I sprouted.
And even, generally, like they, this girl, she talked about me and she was so nice that
I could pretend how funny, how great I was that night, that I could help out.
So I went so strong, so I lets out.
But, yeah.
And I wasn't tired at all.
It could be.
Joni Okay.
All of that, my chance for all of that, and I had no idea why.
I didn't realize until years later that I was going to have one and done it.
Because, you know, to, uh, you know, I think it's, uh, I just, for me, it's a position I was in.
It's amazing. I think I was really, really sick.
Um, I think until I got alcoholics, I was in the first term, I was very, but I was trying to hide it from my parents, so I just stopped.
And, um, I think she got away with it, but then, um, I was going to meet her at a facility with some friends.
And at the time, you know, there was, you know, just the same thing as house, and your parents could put a gun on you.
So I got caught that way, and I think I got grounded for a moment or something.
Um, so I was doing these things in my high school years.
Like, I was doing something wrong.
Um, so that was my first job.
Um, and before, I think Dan said it, you know.
I guess I wasn't.
And it's easy to get some worries, obviously.
So I ended up starting to come down and, you know, you know, I was trying to find a job.
I think I was going to be able to make it through time.
I think I was going to make it through time, but I couldn't get out of the door.
You know, so I was going through strength.
I actually really cared about school.
I, I, you know, I cared about what my teachers thought of me or what I thought of school.
So that's how I lost all interest.
Um, I really lost interest in anything.
And that's what seriously interested me.
And my third purpose was, you know, how can I get back again?
How can I get high again?
Um, and, you know, I was thinking about it, because I think it's really sad.
Um, and it just, uh, it was telling me, you know, the solutions are all in my head.
It seems really quickly that I started to deteriorate.
Like I mentioned, I need to fill my drink.
Almost every time I drink, I click out.
And, gee, well, when you do that.
I'm just, you know, trouble seems to fall.
And I always thought it was a coincidence that the police showed up.
Like, you know, it's, you know, what is up with that?
There was such a police presence.
You know, but, you know, it was me.
I told them there, because I was so lazy.
Um, they were like, you know, the pictures on, um, uh, the tequila meets with folks.
Well, I thought that was, you know, my experience.
You know what I'm saying?
And, you know, gosh, yeah.
Um, I just felt like I didn't need it to, you know, fill me with myself.
You know, it was, you know.
And, you know, like, oh, here's a little sterile.
I was straight there.
Um, but, you know, it seems like that led to these presents.
I was also, you know, like, in a space.
And, you know, at the time, it was something I wanted to do.
And, um, let's see.
And, you know, I started getting arrested type of thing.
And I started to draw the radar on my parents.
Um, you know, I was, you know, starting to have a problem.
Um.
Like I mentioned, my dad is, you know, she is also, um, an investment manager.
So, it's a bit of a lie.
So, you know, it's going to get shut on to me.
So, they started interviewing me for programs.
Um, I was especially put me in.
I said, like, as you're wasting money.
I'm going to put it in a little bit.
Basically, I'm just changing my settings.
Um, I just remember being anxious in the game.
Because.
You know.
It's been really nice to reach in.
Um.
But, I guess I may read.
Um.
So.
Um.
One first in school.
And I believe.
I'm going to be.
GPA of 0.00.
Yeah.
I think I'll make it twice.
Um.
Even when it's a regular high school.
It's a continuation school.
Even going to school.
Um.
And.
Um.
Doing the same.
And my alma mater, I think, is a hospital.
and I'll have it.
And probably, you know,
high school is transferred
and it's been changed here.
It's been marked up all the way.
And so to that intersection,
a person that didn't know me
is very much a believer in high school.
Sorry.
Like I said,
this is like the weirdest thing
that came to me was very much.
But yeah,
you know,
it's been starting to transform
in the early days.
You know,
right now,
the reality is
that's where things are
my friends,
they all do.
And, you know,
so sometimes,
like,
when things happen,
you know,
to, you know,
people,
there's also that situation.
And so, you know,
types of things happen to me.
Like I mentioned,
I got an genocide.
I fell in love
at the age of 16.
You know,
I just,
yeah,
I mean,
yes,
I was,
I think,
17 and he was 19.
That's what we did.
It's just,
I was 14
and he was like 27.
So,
yeah,
you know,
like in our descent,
we were able to use
a chartering badge.
We stayed together
for four years.
He was really
mentally and emotionally abusive.
He was very,
very,
and that's just
what I thought
I deserved at the time.
Yeah,
like I mentioned,
I was still
in ninth grade
twice.
I was
myself with these
really just
people that didn't
have my best interest
at church.
And I hear
when you
age of 16
and
I felt like
it gives
and I've been
through some
like children facilities
and my parents
were so on to me.
And so,
you know,
I felt like
let's give this a try.
So together
we're fine.
I didn't tell my parents.
And I didn't tell a lot of people.
So I actually
get to,
you know,
stimulate some
finding sobriety
around the age of 16.
And at the time,
I had started
going to AA meetings,
getting introduced
to young people
in AA.
And those
people,
they were
officially sober.
And when I had
inside,
and they were
happy,
like genuinely
happy.
And they seemed
genuinely
concerned about me.
And they seemed
like they wanted
to be with me.
And so these
people I was around,
you know,
it was like my sense.
But then I would go
and hang out
with these other people
that were giving me
the best,
I think,
my best interest
at church.
I was still
with that guy,
you know,
I think,
on a big face.
And, you know,
I was living
these two lives.
And, you know,
also my character,
being sad as me.
And that was
telling me,
because I love my parents.
I have so much
respect for them.
They're my best friends.
And they made
clear that I was
lying to them.
So,
I was 18,
I was 97.
And it was so big,
excuse me,
I was telling myself,
like,
let's not just
give this a try.
You know,
I'm 13,
and, you know,
the other things
they just didn't
look at me.
It's just
crazy.
It's crazy.
I started so young,
but anyway,
I'm 35 years.
It's just,
I didn't really
used to do this to me.
At least,
I didn't.
I didn't change
if I got fine.
I didn't want to shut up
while I was paranoid.
I just,
you know,
I just,
I'm not doing this.
So,
you know,
let's just give this thing a go.
Let's,
you know,
let's try sobriety.
So,
I'm in this,
you know,
I had ditched that guy
at the time.
Just really thinking,
you know,
I'm going to get married.
I'm going to try to change.
I'm going to continue
my wedding.
I had no prospects.
I was a shot mess.
You know,
you saw me.
I was,
you know,
I was in bed.
And,
you know,
I just thought,
you know what?
Maybe I can.
Maybe I can't.
So,
you know,
I just had to keep it
really small.
Today,
I'm not going to drink
or eat.
And,
you know,
we started sitting
somewhere together.
And,
you know,
like I said,
July 11th,
97th,
is,
you know,
when the wind was
blowing,
the thought came to me
and,
gosh,
I've been able to stay
sober ever since.
I did it,
like I mentioned,
I got really active
and really quick.
You know,
I attended a lot of meetings.
I got a sponsor.
You get all this
fun activities
that you do
in Young People AA.
When I was 60 days,
I went to
a convention
in Young People AA
in Toronto.
And that's where
I really started
to feel the way I was.
And I found it.
It was an experience
for a young,
sober person.
And,
I remember that.
It really set me
in this path
as a 10-year-old.
And,
like I said,
my schooling
was a joke.
I had gone to
Catholic school
previously.
And,
you know,
I started my school
and I was so good.
I think it was
like a really easy
study.
I,
I mean,
I think I just
found the answers
in the back of the book.
I mean,
it would be an
assignment.
It was really
shocking.
And I did also
use just a couple
of hands
and I'm glad
that I didn't
like to do it.
So,
yeah,
it's crazy.
But,
but it's when
I got sober
and I didn't know
what I wanted
to do with my life.
I was a nurse.
And,
I was,
at the time
I was a kid,
she was a health nurse
so she would take me
with her to visit
her patients.
And,
she would invite me
to,
you know,
to the hospital
and I would keep
talking and
I felt like
maybe this is
something I could do.
I wouldn't suggest
starting nursing school
at 60 or so
much,
but,
after that
I just felt like
I was,
you know,
I would do
something greater.
So,
my sister had,
and my sister,
I didn't go to
see this,
I was a little child.
So,
I was kind of
a little slown.
My sister was
a personality
and basically
whatever she would
tell me to do,
I would,
you know,
if I found out
I found it
to be just like
a little sister.
But,
yeah,
my relationship was
you know,
like a little
shadow.
You know,
I'd say that
I was gosh,
yesterday
we started
raising,
we just got
sentenced to
three years
in prison.
At the same time,
I remember
that that would be
my,
you know,
people in my past
were still
training in prison.
So,
you know,
I was on the side
now,
but,
um,
so I don't think
this is a tale
that's getting
me published.
So,
you know,
yeah,
I was just,
I was kind of
losing it.
I didn't do anything,
you know,
I,
I didn't,
I shouldn't
use it.
My sister said,
can you
just forget it
at the end?
You know,
I didn't,
so I said,
okay.
So,
we went to this
school in
Bundy,
and,
you know,
it was great
because I had
my real education,
but when I started,
and I actually
did a good job,
which I was
really surprised by,
and I fell in love
with this
and I was
missing.
I started
school,
I got my
life
all started,
and I
was
97,
yeah,
I had something
I was serving
and started
and graduating.
I was at
a 15-month program,
graduated,
graduated in
98,
and,
you know,
turned really
much at that point.
I mean,
I got really
active in
the,
you know,
see those
sponsors,
but I
didn't
really do
those
things
except
on
book
books.
I think I
wrote first,
second,
and third,
and I just
felt really
like spiritually
grounded.
I just
didn't
think of
it as
good.
And I
remember
there was
some
big event,
like some
thing,
somebody was
having a
study,
still writing,
I don't know
what she
does,
and I
started
disarming
these
elements,
and I was
talking to my dad,
and I was
telling my dad,
like,
and I said this,
my dad had been
angry for me
for years at this
point.
He was also
an enforcement,
and I was
one of his
buddies,
and they
said,
like,
oh,
the gym
is so
complicated,
I'd be
on my
sense,
right?
And they
made something
of me as a
sergeant.
I was like,
oh,
you need
this
really
quickly.
They were
telling me
all these
things,
and I was
like,
oh,
my God,
yeah,
basically on a
resentment,
I was
really
feeling
like this.
And the
funny thing
about me,
you should
know,
I used
my dad's
expense
to figure
out
the
way
to
sign
your
form.
I said,
if I
get
the
dealership,
I'm
going
up
there.
They
finally
showed me
a
full
bench,
and $15,000
are in
mine.
So I
was
thinking,
I'm
going
to
do
military.
And they
have
an
expense
on
me.
This
was
the
incursions
of a
young
girl.
So,
you know,
I did
know,
I didn't
know
me.
I
needed
to
do
some
training
around
the
world.
I
did
those
too.
I
was
like,
second
year,
I was
second
year,
third
cycle
of
females,
the
joint
sergeants
there,
infantry
post,
and
children
testing.
I
didn't
know
what
to
do
with
this.
I
was
like,
John,
please.
I
didn't
know
what
it was.
It
was
an
experience
I
had
learned.
I
thought
that
family
could
do
BS.
It
was
like,
I
really
need
BS
my
way
to
do
it.
It
was
like,
Amy
Strides.
Within
like,
six
months
of being
an
administrative
.
You're
supposed
to know
something
about
the
colony.
I
really
didn't
know
what
I
was
going
to do.
I
didn't
know
what
I was
going
to do.
I
didn't
know
what
I was
going
to do.
I
didn't
know
what
I was
going to
do.
So,
I
got
here
four
years
ago.
I
was
pretty
cute
actually.
We have an awesome nursing job here.
with her channel. She was a speaker, and it was Christiana Steele. She was no joke. She
was a very good speaker, and, you know, I, I really got to know her, and it was just
starting to, you know, it was, it has to be, you know, it was, you know, it saved my life.
So, thank you for all the broad steps. I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I,
I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I,
I love you all so much, and then, you know, when not she is.
And I'm going to die, and let's see, until then, I'm going to be a screen reader,
and I'm going to be a witness, and I'm going to be a sponsor, and I'm going to be everything today.
I'm going to be a witness in happiness that I have, like, I didn't bring it right down to the ground.
Like, I literally, like, we got stuff that I was doing, like, it's really my stress.
Like, I didn't get all these things.
I just said, you know, it's not what it seems.
So, you know, and that's what really, it's so funny.
It's, you know, it was actually, and you're starting to see that I wasn't blind.
And that was not a fear with me, you know, because it was, you know, I had, I'm not sure,
I'm not sure, that's why I cared about it.
But I was starting to kind of see the side that I wasn't doing.
So, you know, that's when I thought, you know, people are really, you know, they're not blind, you know.
And I didn't realize, because I was so good, I had this killer resume.
And I realized, you know what, a resume is just a piece of paper.
It's just, you know, it can, it can be like I'm flying away.
And so I realized, you know, my wife, it's like, it's just the same.
And I realized it so quickly.
And I didn't surrender.
I didn't surrender.
I didn't do something.
So, I mean, I surrendered and it took direction.
Like I mentioned, I was doing these things and God made it happen to me.
I got a dream job.
And, you know, the way I got that, I don't want to take up too much of your time.
But, you know, there's been several of them.
And why did I not?
I can't say that.
I didn't.
But I know it.
I know it.
But that's it.
I know it.
So, wait, wait a minute.
I just thought my higher path process, I had to do this in teaching classes and sometimes
people that I meet and stares.
I know, I really, I listened to what they were saying.
I was like, I want to speak that out for me.
So, I'm going to say that out for me.
I was like, no, it's this guy.
But I got a new higher quality.
I made some solid credits for that job, and I got it.
And, you know, I met somebody.
I had, you know, not been in a friend's relationship.
I had a relationship with a friend that I had.
And I met a friend at the end.
And, you know, two years ago, I was able to, like, this, like,
stars all over my head, and I was able to, like, go into his house.
And I love making videos so much.
And I was able to buy the house with, you know, some opportunities that I had.
And I built this house with my husband.
And, gosh, I really, really can't stand it for myself.
Just a few years back, I was able to send it to myself at the age of 18.
I was, you know,
Oh, my gosh.
Yes.
Like, I'm like,
Like I said, I'm not exactly great at that.
So I know the team.
I need to communicate to my student audience.
So I went through a lot of thesis when I was going to make things.
I was going to be.
I didn't know where everybody was around at the time.
I was, like, a screen dish.
I was, like,
I was gonna say,
I was, like,
So, yeah, like, these, you know, my fiancé is, you know, you know, because I had, you know, got really good, especially after getting married, like, eventually got, I had my, I mean, I mean, a lot, but as long as I have been, you know, because, you know, I, you know, I have a lot of savings, you know.
I just wanted to stay home with you.
That's why your life's good.
I just can't adjust enough.
I am exhausted.
I, you know, but I had a, so, you know, I'm sorry, but I get to do it on my own, guys.
You know, I'm going to sleep in a regular bed.
I'm going to sleep in a regular bed.
And I'm going to sleep in a regular bed.
And I'm just, thank you all for having me.