I grew up surrounded by addiction, though my parents had found recovery early in my life. I was a relatively skinny child. Diagnosed with ADHD at five years old, I was on medication that suppressed my appetite. In 5th grade, my parents and teachers decided to try taking me off meds for a year, and I went from a size 8 slim to a 16 husky, gaining 60 pounds. When I went back on the medication to improve my ability to focus, it never again suppressed my appetite. By 19, I weighed 240 pounds. I was lonely, broke, and down to one pair of pants with the thighs rubbed out. It was less embarrassing to ask my mom to take me to a meeting than to buy me the next size up. At my first Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA) meeting, I got a sponsor and began working the program. I’d had such a small view of what my future could be, but FA unleashed my ability to dream wildly and achieve those dreams. In the sixteen years since, my life has been transformed beyond what I could have imagined. I'm married, raising two kids, and living with peace and freedom instead of obsession and compulsion. FA saved my life.