Narconon Trois-Rivieres Success Story

It was November 24th, midnight; I couldn’t believe another year had gone so fast. Alone again on a murky yet typically freezing cold night in Toronto. The kind of cold where you can see your breath in the air and when you walk on the snow it makes a crunching sound. A jet plane passes over my head and as I watched its wheels disappear I remember thinking I wish I could too.

I was exhausted and tired of pretending. I had literally spent the last decade of my young life searching, trying to find the person that everyone else wanted me to be. During my years of playing detective I also acquired a serious crystal meth habit. A habit, that at the time I thought helped me to see the world more clearly, crystal clearly. But in fact it warped my sense of reality, it forced me to cut communication with all my friends and family. I had an affinity for nothing and I lost everything.

I walked about 20 miles that night contemplating life. Wondering if I was worth another chance. At this point my body was completely numb and I could no longer feel the cold. The only thing I could feel was the vibration of music coming through the headphones of my Ipod. The song, as cliché as it sounds was “Keep Holding On” by Avril Levigne. I remember thinking could this be a sign? Needless to say I was inspired by the words that I had heard and made my way to the safest, most comforting place I knew, my parents house. As I walked up the driveway dawn had broken. The sunrise made the dark and dismal night into a bright new day and that’s exactly what it was, a brand new day.

As I entered the house I could smell fresh coffee already brewing. My Mother was sitting in her purple fuzzy housecoat at the kitchen table. She seemed unusually calm, and when she saw me she stood up and opened her arms. We hugged and hugged and magically it was exactly what I needed. We talked a lot and drank a lot of coffee, it seemed like the first normal thing I had done in years. It felt good.

The next day I threw a bunch of clothes into a suitcase and I was off to a place called Narconon. Naturally I was nervous and very anxious but determined to succeed in my quest for a better life. It took a few weeks but I settled into a place where I knew I could be myself, or at least find out who I really was. I spent the next 3 months in an environment that helped me to prosper. The amazing staff and student body really cared and made it easy to be there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Guided by the fantastic technology that was provided I was able to rediscover reality and truly be a part of present time. Challenge after challenge I was left standing on my own two feet and in control of my life once again.

The time that I spent at Narconon as a student impacted my life so much that I decided to become a staff member. I have been clean now for almost a full year. I feel that zest for life again. I am a contributing member of society and damn that feels amazing.

P. R.

Graduate of
Narconon Trois-Rivieres