From Junkie to Judge:One Woman’s Triumph Over Trauma and Addiction
From a teenager addicted to methamphetamines to a federal
judge, Mary Beth O’Connor’s memoir shares her inspiring
a journey from rock bottom to resilience as she forged a
personal path to recovery from trauma and addiction.
At 16, she found her drug of choice–methamphetamine. With her first snort, she experienced true joy for the first time. When this high was no longer sufficient, she turned to the needle and shot up. During the next 16 years, she descended into a severe meth addiction, working her way down the corporate ladder, destroying relationships, and shattering her physical and emotional well-being. At 32, she entered rehab, where she was ordered to submit to the 12-steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. As an atheist, turning her will and her life over to a higher power was not an option, and she refused to agree she was powerless. Told to comply or fail, she bravely created a new path that combined ideas from multiple programs and even incorporated some AA concepts. Clean and sober now for nearly three decades, she is proof that anyone can find their sober self, their best self, no matter how far they have fallen.