“You Can Too: Eight Years Clean and Still Fighting”

By Neaki Moss

🌱 Introduction: Not a Boast, But a Hand Extended

This is not a victory lap.

This is not a headline.

This is me, reaching back through the dark to grab the hand of someone who is still there.

Eight years ago, I was drowning. Meth had stolen my breath, my hope, and my will to live. I never thought I’d make it to today. I never thought I’d see a life beyond the haze of addiction. But today, I’m here — eight years clean. And this is not a story about how strong I am. This is a story about how you, too, can rise, even when you don’t think you can.

If you’re reading this and you’re in pain, this is for you. If you’re using right now, this is for you. If you’re afraid you’ll never stop, this is for you. Because I’ve been there, and I know the darkness you’re staring into.

🌌 My Rock Bottom

I don’t know how many times I tried to overdose.

At the peak of my addiction, death didn’t scare me anymore; it felt like an escape. My body shook, convulsed, and trembled for hours after my worst attempt — fifteen hours that felt like a lifetime. I thought, *“This is it. This is how my story ends.”*

But somehow, it didn’t end.

I woke up. My heart kept beating. My lungs kept moving. My body, even in its brokenness, wanted to live more than I did.

It’s strange, looking back now. I don’t know why I survived when so many don’t. I don’t know why I’m here and some of my friends aren’t. But I do know this: I survived for a reason. I survived so I could write this. I survived so I could tell you — the person reading this right now — that you are worth more than you believe.

🪞 The Lie of Worthlessness

Addiction whispers lies.

It tells you that you’re worthless. It tells you that you’ve gone too far, that you’re broken beyond repair, that no one could love you, and that you can’t love yourself. It tells you the world would be better without you.

I believed every one of those lies.

I thought I was the problem. I thought I was poison. I thought I had no value.

But here’s the truth I couldn’t see then:

Even in my darkest, dirtiest, lowest moment, I was still valuable.

I was still a human being.

I was still deserving of love, of dignity, of another chance.

So are you.

If no one else has told you that today, hear it from me:

You are not worthless. You are not broken beyond repair. You are valuable. You are irreplaceable. There is no other you.

🕯️ The First Day

People ask me all the time, *“How did you do it? How did you get clean?”*

The honest answer? One day at a time.

Not one year. Not one month. Not even one week. Just one day.

The first day is the hardest.

You don’t have to know how you’ll make it through the year. You don’t even have to know how you’ll make it through the week. You just have to make it through *today.*

For me, the fight didn’t end after I got clean. It still doesn’t.

Every day is a challenge. Every day, my mind whispers, *“It would be easier to take just one hit.”* But I know that one hit leads to another, and another, and another, until my eight years are gone.

So I fight. And most days, I win. Some days, I just survive. But every day I stay clean, I’m still winning. And you can win, too — even if it’s just for today.

🤝 To the One Who Feels Alone

Maybe you’re reading this and you don’t have anyone in your corner.

Maybe you don’t have a sponsor, a family, a partner, or a friend who understands.

I want you to know this:

Even if you’re alone in the room, you’re not alone in the world.

There are people you haven’t met yet who will cheer for you.

There are lives you haven’t touched yet that will be better because you survived.

When I was using, I felt invisible. I didn’t think anyone would care if I disappeared. But looking back now, I see how wrong I was. There were people who cared. There were people I hadn’t even met yet who would one day become my friends, my readers, my listeners.

And even if it feels like you have no one right now, you still have *you.* And you are worth the fight.

🛤️ The Long Road

Recovery isn’t a straight line.

It’s not a movie montage of steady improvement. It’s a mess of ups and downs, of wins and losses, of relapses and returns.

If you’ve tried before and “failed,” you’re not a failure. You’re still alive. You’re still trying. That’s strength.

I don’t want to paint my eight years as a neat, easy story. It hasn’t been easy. There are days when I’m triggered, days when I’m angry, days when I’m tired. There are days when the memory of using feels like a comfort.

But every day I say no, I’m building a life that’s stronger than the craving.

Every day I say no, I’m proving to myself that I am not my addiction.

And every day you say no — even just for today — you’re doing the same.

💌 My Prayer for You

I don’t have a huge audience.

Maybe only a handful of people will read this.

But even if this reaches only one person, it’s worth it.

Because I went through hell, and I survived, so I could tell you this:

You are valuable.

You are loved.

You are not your mistakes.

You are not beyond hope.

I pray for you.

I pray that you find the peace to love yourself again, or maybe for the first time.

I pray that one day, you’ll look back and see what I see now — that you had the power inside you all along.

🌟 Closing: You Can Too

When I look back at who I was eight years ago, I see pain. I see shame. I see survival.

But I also see a seed — a seed that didn’t know yet that it would grow into something beautiful.

If you’re in the dark right now, you’re not dead soil. You’re a seed.

The pain is not proof that you’re hopeless; it’s proof that you’re still alive.

One day, you’ll look back at this moment.

One day, you’ll see how far you’ve come.

One day, you’ll tell your story, and it will help someone else.

If I can do it — eight years clean, still fighting every day, still saying no when it would be easier to say yes — then you can too.

I believe in you.

Even if you don’t believe in yourself yet, I believe in you.

And when you’re ready to believe it, too, I’ll be here — cheering you on.

P.S.If this story touched you, I hope you’ll take a few minutes to listen to the song that came out of it — the song that carries every tear, every fight, and every victory I’ve lived through.

🎧 Listen to “You Can Too” here: https://youtu.be/8spgCbOQIIM?si=DpLoT8SDOJb708tQ

It’s not just a song — it’s my heart in motion. It’s proof that hope can dance again, and that healing has a rhythm.If you’re still fighting, let this track be your reminder: you are not alone, and your story isn’t over.

Thank you for reading, for listening, and for believing — even if it’s only for today.Because if I can do it… you can too. 💫

– Neaki Moss

#YouCanToo #8YearsClean #RecoveryJourney #AddictionRecovery #Hope #Healing #Inspiration #YouAreNotAlone