I got a call from Racheal less than an hour ago. She came across 'Saving Carrick" on the MSNBC website and was so inspired by it that she wanted to talk to one of us.

Racheal is clean and sober for 20 months, and works in a police department's Addiction Recovery Unit in Oregon. She was elated because she had just been able to place someone in need of treatment in a facility in another city. Victories like this are tough to come by, she says. She often finds herself calling fruitlessly around the state to find a bed for an indigent or homeless person who wants to get clean.

I suggested that Racheal visit our website and add her story to those that Deirdre has started to collect via email to take to Washington next month.

"My story is nothing special," she said.

I've been thinking about that. In a sense, there's "nothing special" about any of our stories. The impact of addiction on ourselves and our loved ones is fairly predictable. What's special is that we're no longer afraid to tell our stories in public so that others realize that they are not alone.

We all bring unique difficulties, insights and learnings to the "wheel of life," of course. The more stories that Deirdre can collect, the greater the impact we all will have as friends and voices of recovery.

I just clicked through to the Advocate discussion to check the link I made above. Rachael has already posted her letter. We hope this is just the first of dozens, hundreds, thousands to come.