"Before I met Mike Curry, drinking was a regular part of my life. I wasn’t necessarily looking at it as something I needed to change, and spirituality really wasn’t part of my life at all. I was used to handling things myself. I worked, took care of my responsibilities, and believed that whatever came my way, I could deal with it on my own.

Mike originally came into my life through my son, Jack. Mike was Jack’s AA sponsor, and I knew how much Jack trusted and respected him. When Jack passed away, my entire world changed.

Losing my son forced me into a place I had never experienced before. The grief, anger, questions, and pain were overwhelming. There were days when it would have been incredibly easy to numb everything with alcohol. I knew that if I went down that road, there was a very real possibility I wouldn’t find my way back.

Even then, reaching out for help wasn’t natural for me. Part of it was pride. Part of it was skepticism. I had spent most of my life believing, “I’ve got this handled.” I also wasn’t someone who had ever put much thought into spirituality, so I didn’t know what that side of recovery could possibly offer me.

What made Mike different was that he never judged me and never tried to force me into becoming someone I wasn’t. When I talked with him, I didn’t feel like I was being lectured or analyzed. He listened. He understood the darkness I was facing, but he also helped me see that I still had choices about what I did with that pain.

One of the biggest shifts for me came when I realized that sobriety wasn’t simply about not drinking. I could either use alcohol to escape what happened to Jack, or I could face the grief, work on myself, and try to find meaning and connection through it. That realization changed the direction I was heading.

With Mike’s help, I chose the second path.

Instead of drinking my way through the loss of my son, I started working on myself. I committed to sobriety. I began exploring spirituality—something I probably would have dismissed before all of this. I started becoming more present in my own life and with the people I love. I still carry the grief of losing Jack, and I always will, but today I don’t have to run from it or numb it.

Mike helped me during one of the darkest periods of my life. He didn’t “fix” my grief or tell me how I was supposed to feel. He helped me find a way to walk through it without destroying myself in the process.

If you’re struggling with alcohol, grief, loss, or you’re simply at a point where the way you’ve always handled life isn’t working anymore, I would tell you to call Mike. You don’t have to already believe in spirituality, have everything figured out, or even know exactly what you’re looking for.

I certainly didn’t.

Sometimes you just need someone who will meet you where you are and help you find a different path forward. Mike did that for me, and I’ll always be grateful for the role he’s played in my life."