with what I thought at the time were some very scary and stern people ( basically because I never had the truth about myself told to me like that consistently without being able to run away from it or argue with it) the handful of counselors I can remember we’re very dedicated and would even offer medical and dental services which proved they just wanted to help us but most of us were in denial and not ready for this clean and sober life, I for one was definitely not ready, so I did everything I could as perfectly as I could to not get violated and get sent to prison and not only that what was supposed to be 14 months turned into 20 months and that just made me very angry and I couldn’t wait to leave the whole scene. During that time we were presented with lectures and talks that were received for the most part with a lot of resistance, but seeds were definitely planted and these dedicated folks drove them in hard which was perfect for me at the time, a lot of the things that Marlice would say consistently really stuck, and I found her to be the one I was most comfortable with even though I got valuable tools from most of them, she was always down to earth and very friendly unless she had to call you out on something lol so my time there was finally over in 2002 and I was going to figure out a way to go on with my life but still hold on to certain drugs and most definitely alcohol, during the eight years I was out of program three of my brothers passed away two of them from alcohol-related illnesses also my mother passed away during this time very depressed watching alcoholism wipe out most of her family and her last son still reeking of it consistently, my disease progressed to the point where I was drinking every day not bothering to eat and I found myself in a local park in 2010 in the fetal position ready to die, I called up my sister who’s been in program for a long time and I said I’m going to die I guess I should try and do something about this so she gently pushed me back into the program where I started feeling better physically but the mental and emotional I had to catch up to that so I got a sponsor and went through the steps of recovery and started to dedicate myself to all facets of recovery and during this time I realize that the seeds that were hammered into me in my court order days played a very large part in saving my life because when I came back I had very valuable experience and I was grateful they kept me there for 20 months all their influences and styles to go along with my sponsors influence and style play a major role in the over 100 alcoholics and addicts both men and women that I have worked with and helped in thier recovery and also this experience with working with others teaches me that for the most part it’s a thankless endeavor but all of us play valuable part in planting seeds that will hopefully eventually germinate like it did with me at the right time. I have an absolute new found respect and love for dedicated recovery warriors like Marlice and the other counselors that dedicate themselves to this incredible endeavor. Marlice is definitely one of the chosen ones and is definitely very dedicated to helping people, I can tell like myself she’s very passionate about it. PS my sober date is 12-18 10, I have a recovered, happy, strong, resilient, joyful nine and a half years and Marlice played a huge part in that and I will be forever grateful and do my best to help others in this department and follow her example.