Leslie's Journey Back to Her Daughters

Hello, 

I'm Leslie. Some of you might know my story, but many of you probably don't, so please bare with me as I share it as clearly as I can. I’m a 40-year-old mom living in Miami, Florida, originally from a small town in North Carolina. I've been in Miami for a year and a half now. I have two beautiful daughters, ages 11 and 16, who still live in NC. Unfortunately, I struggled with addiction for many years while in North Carolina. My addiction journey involved many substances, ultimately leading me to Fentanyl in the last few months before I found recovery.

To achieve recovery, I had to leave my previous living situation and came to treatment in Miami—three times, to be exact. Twice, I returned to my old home, but I couldn’t escape my surroundings. So, on my third attempt, I decided to stay here to regain my strength in sobriety. I literally gave up my entire life to save myself, moving from a three-bedroom trailer to renting a single room here for $1,000. I visit my daughters as often as I can, but each time I leave, it gets harder on all of us. They need me just as much as I need them. Living in Miami on a $15/hour income makes it nearly impossible to save enough to move back home. Sometimes, I wonder if I made a huge mistake by deciding to stay here.. but I know it was necessary to save myself. I feel trapped, stuck, and hopeless—just a lot of things other than happy. It takes every ounce of strength just to get out of bed each day. I want and NEED to be home with my girls. Just to clarify, I haven’t lost custody or rights to them; they’re with my mom and dad while I go through this recovery journey. I’m so blessed and thankful to have their support.

I’m 18 months sober now, and relapse is definitely not an option—now or ever. I’m coming here, pleading for some kind of help; even an abundance of prayers would mean a lot. If you’re reading this and don’t know who I am, please find me on TikTok @Leslieprice947, aka Days of Our Lives. My girls pop into my live sessions sometimes too. I’m an open book, honest about everything in my life, past and present.

Please know it’s tough to put this out there, but I feel like I have no other options. For those of you who made it this far, I appreciate you so much. Please share this if you can. Welcome to my journey back home to start my life over again, but this time for good. I want to be whole again. With each passing day, I feel like I’m losing a little more of myself and my hope. It feels like no one can truly understand unless they’ve been in a similar situation.