Faces of Recovery: Perry, Hector and Rose

More stories and portraits from Recovery Cafe. Every story is different. And the collection of portraits grows. Some stories have a clear arc to them, many, like most of our lives, weave up and down, through highs and lows.

I bring these sketches home from the cafe, scan them and take them back, because I know the people that sit down to talk to me like seeing their portraits up in the cafe.

Perry E Jackson had so many stories to tell. Of the segregated South. Of being a poor minister’s son. Of having an enlarged heart that led to his addiction to alcohol at a very young age. 
“This is my safe haven. I show up and talk to people here. It’s the least I can do to give back.”

Hector Schneider had just suffered two strokes and heart attacks He might have been difficult to understand when he spoke, but he saved his words for the poetry he wrote.
“I paid rent to my parents since I was 13. I worked 4 jobs for the money.”

Rose Isabella is a giver. Always was. 22 years ago, she got clean. She’s been a sponsor ever since.
“22 years ago I decided to go clean. Why? Because I had to, to not lose everything.”

Find every story recorded so far here.