Our guest blogger has written a number of captivating blogs exclusively for Broadway Lodge which detail their recovery experience since leaving treatment here in 2017. You can read their latest piece below which gives an insight into their feelings experienced during a return to Broadway Lodge when they shared their story to current clients last Saturday.
Last weekend I was privileged to be able to return to Broadway Lodge and give the Saturday night ‘ex resident’s share’. It’s only the second time I’ve been back to Broadway since I left treatment in 2017.
It felt surreal to be greeted by the House Leader and taken into dinner, just as I used to greet former residents on Saturday evenings when I was House Leader in my final weeks as a patient. This time, as a visitor, my overriding impression was what a safe and nurturing space Broadway provides. There was a sense of calm and civility, which are so important after the ravages of addiction which lead us up the drive to that miraculous house. When we arrive, our lives are in a state of total chaos and disorder. Broadway starts to provide the bridge to normal living we all crave.
Everything was so familiar, right down to dropping my cutlery into the soapy basin after scraping my plate, yet at the same time so far removed from the new life I have been able to enjoy in recovery. It is hard to explain the mixture of feelings.
After dinner I shared my story and the events that led up to my admission 19 months ago. But mostly I focused on the positive steps that residents can and must take when they finally leave the safety of treatment and re-enter ‘normal’ life. I can only draw upon the suggestions which were given to me and which have served me so well in my recovery.
It was so clear to me that everyone in the room was determined to get well and was putting in the work. You get as much out of your recovery as you put in and I am filled with confidence that the excellent care at Broadway will set the current patients up for success. I felt so lucky to have been there, which is such a huge contrast to the rage and sense of injustice I felt when I first arrived, my life in ruins and my emotions on the floor.
Willingness and action are the pillars upon which all recovery must be based. Broadway gives us the tools to begin to turn our lives around. For me, the service required by step 12 is not a chore. It is a privilege and has never felt more so than being able to spend a few precious hours back in the house where my life was saved. I wish all the current residents all the luck and love in the world, as well as the ten or so newcomers due to arrive this week. You really are in the best possible hands.
