A Mother’s Journey from Unstable to Unshakable

“Today, I’m sober, growing in faith, and rebuilding my life for my son.”

Looking back, the one word Alexa says best describes her childhood is unstable.

For her, going to school was like escaping to another world. She excelled academically, enjoyed meaningful friendships, and set her heart on becoming a business owner someday.

At 18, she moved in with her boyfriend and became even more engulfed in substance abuse. Nothing proved motivation enough for her to sober up—until she found out she was pregnant. Instantly, she quit and refused all drugs, even giving up cigarettes. Her sole concern was being sober and prepared to care for her baby.

Unfortunately, her relationship with the child’s father fell apart. Alexa found solace in the party scene and highly potent narcotics. Despite assuring herself she was only a casual user having fun, she quickly began suffering painful withdrawal symptoms between uses—a sure sign of addiction.

Alexa’s son eventually went to live with his paternal grandparents, incredible people for whom Alexa remains grateful beyond words to this day.

Meanwhile, addiction’s grip tightened around Alexa’s life, as did the repercussions: felony drug possession charges and time spent in and out of jail, to name a few. She also spiraled into fentanyl abuse—the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 to 45.*



Over the span of seven years, Alexa repeatedly checked into drug treatment centers, desiring sobriety yet relapsing time after time. “I overdosed at least 40 to 50 times,” she explains. “I can’t recall how many times I was brought back to life. And when you wake up, you’re like, ‘Where’s my drug?’ The intense pain of withdrawal was too much for me to handle.”

In 2024, after yet another overdose and urgent ambulance ride to the hospital, she woke to the reality of a third drug possession charge, which meant going to prison. Behind bars and completely stripped of all access to drugs, she had no choice but to suffer the agony of detox.

Three painful months later, Alexa had finally undergone complete withdrawal, regaining a stable body and mind. And although prison is among the harshest of environments, it afforded her time and capacity to reflect on her life’s traumas and choices.

“I knew that wasn’t the life I wanted,” she recalls. “I knew I wasn’t where I was supposed to be."

Clarity gave way to faith as Alexa began reading her Bible and praying authentically. She considered it a huge answer to prayer when, in April 2025, she transitioned to a Sharpen Recovery home. She’d had a brief stay at Sharpen before, but unlike this time around, had not been ready to commit to the program.

For one year now at Sharpen Recovery, Alexa has remained sober, gleaning daily from the program and stages while developing the coping skills and inner strength to resist relapsing. Even in the midst of life’s hardest trials—such as when her closest friend died—Alexa has stayed the course of recovery.

Integral to her success is the family-like community Alexa now has within the Sharpen Recovery home. It’s like no other homelife support system she’s ever experienced before.

What’s more, Alexa was promoted to Peer Coordinator within her Sharpen home, a leadership role where she provides fellow housemate participants with encouragement and accountability—and she is flourishing in the role!

Alexa has also experienced significant spiritual growth while at Sharpen Recovery, benefiting greatly from the Bible-based content and discussions woven into the weekly programming.

Whereas she used to shake an angry fist at God each time she lived to see another day, she’s come to recognize her miraculous overdose survivals as His loving grace affording her the chance to live out her life’s significant purpose.

And that purpose includes a life of lasting sobriety. It also includes loving and caring for her eight-year-old son. She regained parental custody while living at Sharpen and is eager to eventually have a place of her own where she will live with her son and finish raising him.

As yet another redemptive, full-circle experience, Alexa is more confident than ever that she will become a business owner. She’s set her sights on someday owning and operating recovery homes, helping others the way Sharpen Recovery is helping her now. *Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024). Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States, 2001–2022. NCHS Data Brief, no 491. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db491.htm