My name is Ann Marie Harrison, but my family has always called me Mona. I have been incarcerated since I was 21 years old, and today I am a 44-year-old woman. I have grown up in prison, by working on myself through various self-help opportunities.
Not until 2024, when I entered FIRST, did I finally realize how hard recovery really is. I have battled with addiction since I was 13 years old. My clean date is October 6, 2022. Since completing the 14 month months of FIRST, I have come to truly understand how the steps all work together, in order for me to change my life. It’s life‘s perfect puzzle.
I can’t even tell you how many times I have read the 12 steps in other groups. But in FIRST, we “work“ the steps. That is when my life really began to change. Now the steps are a part of my daily living, and forever embedded in my mind and soul. FIRST was not easy. Not even a little bit. But it was well worth the effort.
I can’t wait for more women in my community to get what I have received from FIRST. As this has without a doubt, absolutely changed me for the better and built me up to be the best version of me that I can be.
Thank you FIRST!
Sincerely, Mona Harrison.
