Welcome to the Rebellion

Rebuilding Trust After Addiction: One Day at a Time

Rebuilding trust after addiction as a recovering husband walks toward his wife and children, symbolizing healing relationships through sobriety and consistent actions.

Addiction doesn’t just destroy your health—it destroys trust. In this deeply personal story, I share how years of broken promises, lies, and alcohol damaged my relationships, why some trust may never return, and how sobriety taught me that trust isn’t earned through words, but through consistent actions over time.

Life After Rehab: Learning to Stay Sober in the Real World

A husband and wife drive north on Highway 2 in Alberta after completing addiction treatment, with the Rocky Mountain foothills on one side and the open prairie on the other.

Leaving treatment was only the beginning. In this personal story, I share what life after rehab was really like—from rebuilding structure and managing triggers to finding community, staying sober, and creating a life worth fighting for.

Three Months That Changed Everything: My Time at Claresholm

Abstract wolf transitioning from darkness into light, symbolizing addiction recovery, personal growth, structure, and healing.

How structure, CBT, and three months in an addiction treatment centre helped me rebuild a life worth staying sober for. On October 21, 2016, I found myself on a bus leaving Renfrew Detox Centre andheading toward Claresholm for a three-month addiction treatment program. I had one goal in mind. I wanted somebody to fix my […]

What Happened When I Finally Asked for Help With Addiction

Dark basement stairs leading toward an open door filled with light, symbolizing the decision to seek help for addiction.

Asking for Help With Addiction Was the Hardest Decision I Ever Made The Day I Asked for Help Asking for help with addiction was the hardest decision I have ever made. On the night of October 15, 2016, I used for the last time. The truth is, I didn’t know it would be the last […]

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: How It Can Help You Get Sober

Cognitive behavioral therapy and addiction recovery

Changing the way you think so you can change the way you live What Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)? According to the American Psychological Association, cognitive behavioral therapy is one of the most effective approaches for changing destructive thought patterns. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy was one of the first tools I learned in rehab that genuinely […]

Treatment Centre vs Quitting Cold Turkey: What Actually Works

treatment center vs quitting cold turkey shown as two paths, one leading into darkness and one toward a bright sunset

Treatment Centre vs. Quitting Cold Turkey I think the question of whether treatment center vs quitting cold turkey on their own, rattles around in the mind of almost everyone who’s looking for help. It’s a hard question to answer because you see examples on both sides. Some people go to treatment and it works. Others […]

Recovery in the Beginning: Early Sobriety and Replacing the High with Real Joy

A bearded man crocheting a colourful blanket on a couch at night, symbolizing peace and joy in early sobriety

Early sobriety is messy, awkward, and powerful—filled with small wins that eventually add up to a life you never thought possible. Anybody who has gone through early sobriety—or is currently there—will get this. In the beginning, it’s tough. Whether you’re fresh out of detox, just finished a treatment program, or even trying to quit cold […]

Born Catholic, Turned Atheist, Shifted Agnostic… Now What?

Eight people sitting on a stone wall at sunset, half facing one direction and half the other, symbolizing spiritual indecision and faith during recovery.

A personal look at how faith evolved — or unraveled — through addiction, atheism, and nearly a decade of recovery. I was born and raised Roman Catholic. Like most in the faith, I was baptized as a baby, received my first communion, and was confirmed as a teenager. That was just the path — you […]

Addicts Rebellion: My Journey, My Mission

"Man walking down a path symbolizing an addiction recovery journey after 9 years sober"

My Addiction Recovery Story: From Rock Bottom to Rebirth From youth trauma and drug addiction to rebuilding my life in sobriety—this is my story of hitting bottom, facing truth, and choosing recovery.   From the outside, we looked like a normal, tight-knit family. Mom, Dad, three boys. My parents both worked full-time, we went to […]