Aygul’s Story
The project vision for Harvest House (New Brunswick) in 2023 was to provide enrolment for 10 women in their addiction recovery program. A $3000 WDP grant funded the books and supplies for these women to take part in classes focused on education, empowerment and self-sufficiency – a chance to reclaim their lives.
Here is Aryul’s story, a person who reclaimed her life through the program.
Aygul was born in Ufa, Russia into a Muslim family. Her days were filled with music lessons, ballet, karate, and art classes. Her father and uncle were both alcoholics when she was young, and her parents divorced when she was just 2 years old.
Aygul remembers her first drink vividly. She was 14 years old and at a summer camp. Her friends had wine and cigarettes, so she joined in. This was the beginning of her addiction to alcohol. When she drank, she felt like a leash came off … she was free.
Aygul was pregnant when she graduated from high school. She stayed sober for 1.5 years while pregnant and breastfeeding, but as soon as she was able, she began drinking again. She would drink every night at home, as a stay-at-home young mom. This pattern continued into her 20s and 30s, with alcohol controlling her life.
For the last 19 years, Aygul has been living in Canada. Recently, Aygul experienced a breakup that sent her into a downward spiral. The relationship had provided a slight sense of accountability as she tried to hide her addiction, but suddenly, she was completely alone and sank even deeper into her addiction. She would call a taxi service to bring alcohol to her door, so she would never have to leave the house.
Aygul needed help. She spent two weeks in detox and was told about Harvest House Atlantic’s addiction recovery program. She came to our program simply for a roof over her head and medical care. She had been in two treatment programs before so to her, this was just another program. She soon noticed that the staff genuinely cared for and wanted to help her. After a couple of weeks in the program she started to enjoy a class offered on codependency and began reading her Bible. She said, “I started to like myself sober, then I started really working on myself.” Now, she says she likes what’s going on inside her, and she’s learning to love herself. “Harvest House woke me up.” This is her first time ever genuinely wanting to be sober. She is dreaming, believing, and taking sobriety one day at a time. Her goal every day is to wake up sober and go to bed sober. She feels as though she has been truly reborn.
When asked to explain her sobriety now, she says it’s like a book full of bright colored pages, whereas addiction was all black and white, the same story over and over. Now she gets to write a different story, full of color and hope.