A personal story of hope by Emmanuelle Barreto
October 18, 2024
National Recovery Month is observed every September. It’s a month dedicated to hope and healing. Emmanuelle Barreto, Managing Director of Tidewater Residences in Canaan, CT (a facility that supports individuals in recovery) was kind enough to share his personal story with us:
My name is Manny Barreto and I am a person in long-term recovery. I am blessed to live today with a message and as an example of hope. As someone who lived a life with substance use disorder, I understand the pain of loss that cannot and need not be explained. The type of pain that hurts so often it rendered me unable to verbalize or process beyond an expression of numbness.
Little more than a decade ago, I looked around and noticed that among people of my generation I had attended more funerals than weddings, baby showers, and graduations. I bore witness to the unfairness, faith in destruction, obsession, and pain that pulled me to depths with little more than a hopeless wish for a permanent end.
Today I am grateful because that same hopelessness has left me fertile for the connection and support which ultimately pushed me into a new beginning. One day and step at a time, I have been able to continue to grow and heal. Since those humble beginnings I can now confidently say that I am not only a person in recovery. I am a person in recovery, I am a son, brother, uncle, and friend.
There is not enough time nor space to describe life when lived with the joy of living, the peace of mindfulness, and excitement for tomorrow. My living message for those who still wander is this: you are understood, recovery and healing are possible, and you are not alone.