TaRaea, 54

TaRaea’s recovery story is shaped by growth, support, and finding the strength to chase her dreams.

In 2018, after losing her son to cancer, TaRaea turned to substances to cope. “When you lose a child, the pain is just unbearable,” she says. She went to treatment twice that year and tried to rebuild. “I came home and got a job, a place, and a dog,” TaRaea recalls. “I was paying bills and doing fine, and thought after just 90 days I was cured. But that wasn’t the case.”

When the anniversary of her son’s death came around, TaRaea relapsed and overdosed. “I woke up in the emergency room one day, and didn’t know until 30 days later what was actually in my system,” she says. Two days later, she returned to treatment — and stayed. “Here I am today, 18 months clean and sober.”

“Life now, in recovery, is peaceful. I know what serenity is. I have joy in my life today.”

For TaRaea, recovery brings clarity and purpose. “Life now, in recovery, is peaceful. I know what serenity is,” says TaRaea. “I have joy in my life today. I know how to deal with certain situations without drinking or using drugs to numb the pain.”

A major breakthrough came about when TaRaea reconnected with her love of comedy. “I asked myself, ‘What’s my purpose? What’s my passion?’ I remembered that I’ve always liked to make people laugh, and people had told me I should be a comedian,” she says. “I could never see it for myself before, until now.”

TaRaea started writing, praying, and sharing her dream — and doors began to open. “My first time on stage was a few months ago,” she says. “Leading up to it I was nervous, but I got up there and did it.”

Looking back, TaRaea is grateful. “When I made it back to recovery, it was like a breath of fresh air,” she says. “Recovery has empowered me to be a better mother and a better listener. I’m more patient, understanding, and loving. Recovery has been nothing but a positive to me.”

Her advice: “Help is available, and recovery is possible,” she says. “Recovery works if you work it. Have an open mind and be willing.”

She also adds that your perspective plays a major role. “If I start feeling off, I find something positive to think about to change my mindset,” she says. “The way I see it, I can either stay in the negative or I can turn it into a positive. I have the power to change what I’m thinking.”

TaRaea is driven by faith, both in God and in herself. “My faith is my strength,” she says. “Recovery has given me the power to move forward with my dreams."