I just received an e-mail from the staff at a rehab center I attended, the best ever drug addiction treatment center, which reminded me that I wanted to send an update on how I’ve been doing. I now have three years, one month and thirteen days of sobriety under my belt, and it feels amazing. I live with my wonderful sober boyfriend in the beautiful little beach town of Santa Cruz, where I currently work as a barista (still drinking the coffee!) and take classes at UCSC. On November 2 of 2006, I conquered my one remaining addiction – cigarettes – and have now been smoke-free for four months and seven days. If someone had told me three years ago that in a few years I would be sober and loving life in a sleepy Northern California beach town, I would have laughed and asked what they’d been smoking, but lo and behold, here I am today. I often think about my time at rehab and about how incredibly fortunate I was to arrive there when I did. I truly believe that drug addiction treatment saved my life, providing me with a place to break free of heroin’s death grip, and the tools to stay clean. I shudder at the thought of what could have happened to me otherwise. All I can say is thank you, thank you, thank you. I have my life back again, in all its gloriousness. Keep doing what you’re doing and reaching out, because it truly works.