Day 1 Letters are letters written by clients to their younger selves on their very first day of recovery. Share in their wisdom and knowledge gained.

If you are on Day 1 of your recovery, embrace the hope for a brighter future. These letters are posted with client approval and have been anonymized.

“Hey man —

Your worst fears will come true. And, believe it or not, it will be the best thing that ever happened to you.

You’re going to learn who your friends are and who will never, ever give up on you. It’s almost everyone you know! You’ll learn how to love yourself again and you’ll shed that sense of shame and guilt that has followed you around for 35 years. You’ll learn that you hate the feeling of loneliness but you — only you — have the power to stop it by doing nothing more than connecting with people in an honest, transparent way. There are so many people who want to see you thrive and you have the ability to let them be a part of it.

You’re also going to learn that there are people and situations you can’t control and feelings you can’t avoid — and why you won’t want to avoid them. Feel them all. Identify them all. Think about where those feelings come from and know that you don’t have to run from them or create a secret space to hide from them. They won’t kill you. And none of them are as permanent as the love of your friends and family.

Go find what makes you happy, and not just what makes you numb the hurt.”

~R.M.