My personal video can be viewed here:Joe’s Video
Hello
My name is Joe Kite and I am a recovering alcoholic/addict. I’d like to tell you a little about me. I come from a large family, where I never felt like I fit in. As I entered my freshman year of high school, I played football, some of my teammates and I would go to parties and drink beer. From that first beer, I finally felt a part of and like I fit into something. I was hanging out with the cool people. I loved the way it made me feel.
As time went on and the disease progressed, I was always chasing the high of how it made me feel the first time I got loaded. In recovery, they talk about how “cunning, baffling and powerful” the disease is and how there is an invisible line when crossing it. You can go from being a social partier or drinker to an alcoholic without even knowing you have crossed that line.
In the beginning, I liked the way it made me feel. And I drank and used socially. But when I crossed that line I drank and used because of the way it made me not feel. When using, the only thing that mattered was getting loaded. I pushed my family and friends out of my life.
After hitting a bottom on January 9, 1998, I reached out for help. I truly believe that the large family I talked about earlier, the ones I never fit in with, didn’t pray me through that period of my life, I probably would not be writing this story. In AA or in NA they say all we need is a desire to stop using and that’s when the miracles happen.
I’ve learned over the years in recovery that I have a mind powered disease, that’s centered in my mind. And it needs to be treated and that there is two ways to treat it.
1-treat it with the application of 12 Steps in conjunction with a Power greater than me
and, or treat it with
2-drugs and alcohol
Those are my choices of treatment for today, when I treat it with the 12 steps and Higher Power, my life is good today! The reality for me knowing my track record is, if I was to treat it with Drugs and Alcohol I wouldn’t make it back.
Thank you for reading my story,
Joe Kite
Cell (818) 427-1877
