Amanda and I met as freshman before drugs took over. She was one of my closest friends, introduced me to my husband and was out maid of honor. We rode the rollercoaster of addiction together, with her a bit ahead of me. I sat by ICU bedsides but she found recovery first and led me there, gently but unwillingly. She was a light in the recovery communities where she was for close to a decade. Everyone who knew her knew that smile and that laugh. She's going to kill me for the pic I chose, but you can see the life in it. Sadly, by the time I got here again, she was struggling. She wanted to be clean and be a mom again so bad and she tried over and over, but she couldn't make it. Again, we passed each other going different directions, but she was there to give me my 18 months coin (which I didn't even know existed) and I got to bring Ben to her at the airport from a treatment center. So many people have so many memories of her, and I can't put what she was into words. I have a memorial tattoo for her that we were planning to get together. It says "I am...You are...We are...Enough". She was always enough even when she didn't believe it and she helped me see my value enough to be able to stick and stay. When I asked why she went back out, she said "the same as anyone, unwillingness to practice principles. Tell others so they don't have to follow me." And when I think I know some stuff, I hear "You can't be too stupid for this program, but you can be too smart.". Your words and laugh live on in the people who love you. Your eyes live on in Ben.

Submitted by Jess Fry.