My Name is Carrie Cunningham and my sobriety date is September 10, 2016. I grew up in Elkview, West Virginia. I lived with my mom and Dad and my brother who was my best friend. We lived in a small trailer behind my grandparents’ house. They were the best
people I have ever known. My brother and I would spend our days at my grandparents’ house until our mom would get off work.

Our Dad was a great Dad when he was sober. Our Dad was an alcoholic. Our Mom would often be nervous and worried, wondering what shape our dad would be in when he got home. He was never physically abusive, but he would say mean things and make threats that would scare our mom.

Growing up I played sports. I got good grades. I was not popular, but I had friends. The first time I tried alcohol was around 14 years old. I got blacked out drunk and had a hangover that felt like it would kill me. I was sneaky. My parents wouldn’t allow us to go to many places, especially parties or a friend’s house that they didn’t know, so I would lie to my mom and tell her I was somewhere else when I was partying hard.

In High School, I started smoking marijuana. I quit playing softball. I met a boy and dated him all through high school. I did not go to my senior prom, because I was saving my money for my wedding dress. I got married 2 months after graduation. I was in Cosmetology school, and I finished. I won every hair competition I entered. I was good. Life was good until my mom informed me that she was divorcing my dad. My Mom and Dad had been together my entire life. She waited until my brother, and I had got married and left the house and then she left my dad. She needed to and she did the right thing, but dang, I never dreamed it would affect me the way it did. I felt alone. I divorced my husband, I started going to bars and partying, my problem was, that I didn’t want the party to end. I got mixed in with people who were cooking meth and partying all the time.

I met the father of my children during this time and once I became a Mom I settled down and was a mom for a few years. Fast forward, my husband and I started going out to bars with friends. This was a mistake. This was a turning point for how my life would take a turn and before I knew it my life was out of control. I got a divorce. I quit my job in the salon. I was mixed in with people that I had no business being around. When my kids would go to their dad’s house, I would be partying, gambling, cooking meth, just horrible things that I shouldn’t be doing, but I couldn’t stop.

I started selling meth. I went from being a homeroom mom to being a meth dealer. My life was out of control. I was in high-speed chases, on the morning news. My morals had gone out the window. I was not proud of the person I was at the time. I still did not think I had a problem. I was arrested multiple times for possession of meth. I was arrested for Grand Larceny for having a stolen motorcycle.  I ended up losing my apartment, so I started dealing drugs out of hotels. My kids always thought we were on vacation. I did what I had to do to survive.

While making a drug deal in the back of my car, I was surrounded by the Drug Task Force. I had sold drugs to an undercover informant.  This event is part of the story that saved my life.  I did not go to jail immediately when I was caught selling drugs. So, everyone thought I was a snitch, I was down and out and lived afraid.

My brother, a heroin addict, got out of jail a year later, and three months after that he passed away from a stroke due to long-term drug use. When he died, a little of me died that day too. I did not care about anything. I felt like God hated me, I quit praying, I wanted nothing to do with God.  I could not stay sober. I didn’t want to. I was so broken and torn up over my brother dying that I just didn’t care about living.

I ended up getting indicted for several months for selling meth. It took them 15 months to indict me. I thought they had forgotten about me. They put me on pre-sentence probation, and they had intentions of giving me an alternative sentence like drug court or day report. I ended up getting sentenced to two 1-5 yr sentences in the State Penitentiary. I did not know how I was going to survive being away from my girls, but I was not mentally present when I was around them, to begin with. I was high all the time and was headed for disaster.

I went to jail and once I got my mind clear after being there for a few months, I started going to Church. My Mom had always taken me and my brother to church as kids. I never had a relationship with God, I just knew of him. I ended up getting saved while I was in there. I was waiting to be transported to prison. I was sent to Tygart Valley Regional Jail to the DOC holding facility.

While on the van ride there, I met this girl who was so excited telling me about this new facility called Recovery Point that was being built on the west side of Charleston. She told me she could help get me in there. I missed my children so badly. I missed my mom and Dad. I felt so terrible for my mom. She must have felt like a failure. Her only son died from drugs, and her only daughter was in jail due to drugs. My mother never touched drugs or alcohol. I attended church regularly while I was in prison. I read my bible. I searched for God with all my heart. I wanted to know him. I found him for sure.

I asked for a reconsideration to go to Recovery Point in November 2016 and I was denied. Normally I would have fallen apart or flipped out, but I was learning to trust God and rely on scripture. I read every recovery book I could get my hands on. I would lay in bed at night and read the pamphlet that the community engagement specialist had sent me. I would dream of the day that I could come to Recovery Point. I was baptized in the laundry room, in an inflatable pool. God was preparing me for my future. I went back before my Judge on February 2, 2017, and asked for the reconsideration to come to Recovery Point Charleston. It was granted and I was brought straight over from the courthouse in my oranges and shackles. My sweet Mom was sitting up front in the waiting area. I had not seen her in almost a year. It was one of the best days of my life. I had never been to treatment before. I wasn’t sure what to expect.

My time at Recovery Point was the best time of my life. I made lifelong friendships, a sisterhood like no other. Ladies who would support me for years to come. I got a sponsor, and I started working the 12 steps like my life depended on it, because it did. I listened to and acted on suggestions, I went to many, many meetings. I graduated from the first group of ladies from Recovery Point in 2017, it took me 11 months. I immediately started working for Recovery Point as a program monitor. I transitioned into the first Recovery Coaches that Recovery Point would have and was placed in the Emergency Rooms at CAMC. I gained my PRSS certification. I got an apartment out back at Recovery Point where I lived for a year with my children. I stayed connected, I still went to meetings. I hung out with sober people. My sweet mom passed away unexpectedly in 2022. I was able to have 5 beautiful sober years with My mom and her able to witness me gain all these things and remain sober. It was the hardest thing to ever happen to me, but thanks to God and Recovery Point and my friends and family, I never even thought about using it. I will honor my mother by remaining sober.

“I was able to have 5 beautiful sober years with My mom…. I will honor my mother by remaining sober.”

I went on to work as the Project Coordinator for the West Virginia Peer Recovery Training Hub for the Center of Excellence for Recovery. I worked training peers across the state so they could test for their PRSS certification. This past December I was able to petition the courts and get my criminal record expunged. I sit on the Kanawha County Criminal Justice Board.

I am on the Drug Court Treatment Team. I am a full-time Mother to 4 beautiful girls. I can be present in their lives be a role model and listen to them intentionally. I go to church; I am forever grateful for my past. It just shows how God can take your situation and turn it around for the good. My heart led me home to Recovery Point last May where I am now the Director of the women’s program. It has come full circle for me. I love to see these women come in, where I once was, and be able to gain their lives back and see them reunite with their children. All these things have been possible because I wanted this for myself, I put the work in, and I trusted God. If I can do this,
anyone can.