I've recently been in contact through Twitter with an author called Carolyn Jones
from America. She got in touch about my challenge, she gave up drinking 11
years ago and has been telling her story and helping others ever since.
Carolyn
agreed to answer some questions for me:
Why did you start drinking?
It was my
senior year in college when I received a letter from my boyfriend I was supposed
to marry soon. He wrote saying he’d already been married to someone else. I was
devastated! My roommates took me out to
drown my sorrows and that began a 26 year drinking career.
When was the last time you had an
alcoholic drink?
March 6,
2001, when I drove to San Diego to stay with my old bartender who had moved
there to get sober herself.
What made you want to give up
alcohol?
What happened
was, I fell in love with a guy I thought reciprocated my love. I was sure he
was my soulmate. When he told me in a most humiliating way that he didn’t care
for me, I lost it, became devastated. All I could do for the next several
months was drink and cry. I couldn’t even feed myself. Then there became a deep
knowingness that if I continued drinking, I’d die. So I prayed to a God I
didn’t believe in, asking for help. God sent Brad, a young guy who befriended
me and helped me through the devastation. While I was hanging out with Brad,
the idea to go on a road trip to “find myself” came to me, and I started my
trip by driving from Sausalito, CA to San Diego, where I stayed for 1 ½ years,
getting sober. I was so sure I’d die if I continued drinking, that I remained sober.
Do you ever feel the urge to drink?
Normally,
no, but I just was returning by plane from Tampa, after my nephew’s wedding,
and while at the airport, I thought about going into one of the bars and having
a drink. That sure took me by surprise! I didn’t do it because I love my
sobriety so much, I didn’t want to spoil it.
How do you feel on a night out? Is
it hard to watch others drinking?
It is not
hard to watch others drinking until the effects of the liquor hits them and
they start talking loudly and getting stupid. Then it bothers me and I have to
leave.
Any advice to those who want to
cut down or stop drinking altogether?
Yes, just
that I would like you to know of the beautiful world that exists without
alcohol, without being high, without numbing out. A way of life exists where
you feel great joy, happiness, and contentment, where you feel the ecstasy you
are looking for in alcohol. It’s even better than alcohol. Get help to get
sober, through AA or another support group of some kind, as having others to
commiserate with is so important. If necessary because of deep emotional
issues, get a therapist who is versed in recovery issues. Do the work as it is
suggested. Read lots of spiritual books and journal about your feelings. Know
that you will go through difficult periods as emotions surface, but beyond that
all lies nirvana. :)
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Whether
speaking to an audience, looking through the lens of a camera, or writing,
award-winning author and photographer Carolyn CJ Jones easily creates an atmosphere
of calm and peace.
Carolyn
blogs nearly every day about how she overcame great adversity in life, including
a 26 year drinking “career.” Much of what she discusses involves her sobriety
of 11+ years and it offers hope to those who are struggling with a drinking
issue, or, simply are looking for peace in a troubled life.
Topics from
her nationally acclaimed book, Opening
the Gates of the Heart: A Journey of Healing, form the foundation for many
of Carolyn’s posts. Additionally, she
spreads the message in her own way that “hope is reachable” (quote by Norman A.
Woods, N’Side) through speaking and coaching others in the process she
discovered that led her to a more calm and peaceful life.
For more
information about Carolyn and her work, please visit www.carolyncjjones.com
