Hello World!
Tough times don’t last, tough people do. – Robert Schuller
My name is Ciana ‘Ci’, and I am an alcoholic. I’ve struggled with addiction for most of my life. As a teenager I experimented with drugs and alcohol but was always able to stop using drugs without any significant withdrawals or impact. Alcohol on the other hand, was not so easy.
I’ve maintained sobriety in the past for long periods of time but always given in to ‘one drink’. For those of us suffering from addiction you know that one drink is too many, and one more is never enough. I wanted this time to be different, I needed this time to be different, because no matter how much I lied to myself and tried to lie to everyone else, I could see the effects in every aspect of my life.
So, I went to rehab! I started journaling as part of my daily routine in rehab. I kept thinking about something I heard there that really resonated with me. I watched a recording of Brene Brown who said, “One day you will tell your story of how you overcame what you went through, and it will be someone else’s survival guide.” I don’t know if this blog will become someone else’s survival guide or just my journal to reflect back on later, I will be stronger for it either way.
May you be sober and happy always! Ci
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Humble Pie for One
7.26.25 Today I went to get my sleeve worked on. My tattoo artist is in recovery too—I call him an OG. His story is moving, and I’ve got a ton of respect for him. I walked in expecting some pain and some beautiful art, but I walked out with more than I paid for. He
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Gold Stars Don’t Keep Me Sober
7.25.25 We live in a society of instant gratification. It’s expected — even demanded. I see it more and more with each younger generation. Add in the disease of addiction, and you’ve got monsters. It’s like being surrounded by robot soldiers from the movies. Myself included. I did something for someone else. I finished a
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I Survived Another Day of Absolutely Nothing
7.24.25 My mind and body have been on the go nonstop the last couple of weeks, and today they made it clear—it was time to slow down. After work, I felt like I could’ve crawled into bed for the night right then and there. But I knew if I did, I’d be wide awake by
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As Willing as the Dying
7.23.25 One of the many things I love about AA is that everyone—or at least most everyone—understands just how hard it is to stay sober. Not just every day, but sometimes every damn minute. People are compassionate, sympathetic, and empathetic when someone relapses. Whether it’s been a day, a week, a month, a year, or