From Practicing Lawyer to Prison Inmate

From Practicing Lawyer to Prison Inmate

Substance abuse destroys people and their relationships with others. Unfortunately, the negative impact doesn't end there. This is one woman's story of alcohol abuse that cost an attorney her career and freedom.

The night that would change my life forever started like any other. It had been a beautiful September day in southwest Florida, one I spent slaving away at my thankless job as a construction defect attorney.

My asshole of a boss was going to town on something that I had submitted to her, as usual, so I spent the afternoon wallowing in despair about my chosen career path. Having hated law school, I’m not sure why I thought practicing law would be any different?

My toxic work environment normally didn’t bother me too much, but I felt especially vulnerable and exposed those last few weeks. In addition to my parents’ recent divorce and the subsequent dissolution of my close-knit family, my long-time boyfriend had a sudden “change of heart.” He walked out the door and out of my life. His statement, “I just want to be single,” was my only form of closure, and with my family members and close friends four states away in Texas, I felt utterly alone as I tried (unsuccessfully) to bounce back from this all-consuming heartache.

It wouldn’t have taken much to send me over the edge at that point. So when I found out a few weeks later that my ex had already found someone else, something inside me snapped. I was sick of always trying to live up to others’ expectations and being the boring, responsible, over-achiever. Because, in the end, where had it left me today? Heartbroken, miserable, and alone, that’s where.

Alcoholism Progressed, Fast

So I picked up the bottle, using alcohol as an escape from the life I desperately wanted nothing to do with. Wine quickly became my constant companion, taking the edge off every miserable day and allowing me to function in an emotionless haze. And just like every other drunk who hits rock bottom, one night, my uncontrollable drinking came to a head.

Driving home from another long night at the bar, my Blackberry dinged with an incoming text message. It has to be my ex saying he wants me back, I told myself as I drunkenly rooted my phone out of my purse sitting in the front seat. (Of course it wasn’t him, but I looked at it anyway.) God only knows how long my eyes were off the road, but I never even saw the black Jeep waiting at the red light. Its four (very sober) passengers were heading home when I crashed into them, leaving two of them seriously injured.

A Lawyer in Jail, What an Irony

A criminal investigation soon commenced, and it wasn’t long before I was sentenced. Even though it was my first offense, the judge handed me 10 years: four in state prison, followed by six years of probation.

For 41 months, I called the state penitentiary “home,” living side-by-side with some of the most dangerous women in the state of Florida. But for all the bad things that came along with prison life, it also gave me a lot of time to reflect on what it was that led me there…and all the bad choices I’d made with alcohol. I was an alcoholic; I finally came to terms with that. And my inability to control myself - or how much I drank - was the reason I landed behind bars.

I promised myself that, once I got out, I would never jeopardize my freedom again - no matter what happened. Alcohol dragged me down a path that I wanted nothing to do with anymore. It not only irreparably damaged my life, but the lives of several other families’, as well. Unless I wanted to make prison my permanent home, a clean and sober life was my only option.

It’s been almost four years since I was released from prison, and though it’s never been easy, I’ve kept my promise. As an addict, I live each day in recovery and strive to be a better version of “me.” Alcohol no longer defines my daily life, and the funny thing is, I’ve never been happier.