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Below is an article we were featured in recently. I hope you enjoy the read 🙏

We are so excited to share with you today’s story from Sam and Nichole. Their love for one another and passion for recovery advocacy is contagious. Please read, share, and help us spark compassion for those who most need it. #morethanaddiction

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Sam and Nichole share trust, faith, and a deep commitment to one another. Both are in recovery.

Nichole wants people to understand that addiction is much more than a drink or drug, that it lives in a person’s mind, and even without drugs or alcohol they suffer from a disease of the mind and body. She says, “It is about the actual behaviors that I need to address more than the substance I use to mask this disease.”

And Sam offers that confronting addiction “is larger than any small sum of people who think they have the answers” and that “we must come together and cooperate to make real progress against every facet that continues to contribute to this epidemic.”

And that includes empowering others.

Nichole says helping women in recovery and bringing hope to those in the trenches is something that brings her fulfillment. She says she believes in fighting for people when they don’t or can’t fight for themselves and loving them for who they are in those difficult moments. “I am rough around the edges,” Nichole shares, “but I have pure motives and I am always here to help when and how I can.”

Sam is passionate about serving the communities of addiction and mental illness and empowering others to love themselves. He says he’s “a pretty open book,” and his approach may sometimes have flaws, “but there’s a deep desire to help.”

The pair balances work, recovery, and their relationship and they’ve learned that how to grow and give together.

“Honestly, before recovery, a relationship was just a personal gain to me. I focused on what they could give me in life, and today I focus more on what we can give the world. [Sam] was my best friend before my boyfriend and he has truly has taught me so much about myself over these two and a half years. We have our own lives separately but also one united, and it is so much better than I ever knew it could be. He is my safe place for sure,” Nichole shares.

Sam adds, “It’s about support and love for another human being no matter how good or bad things are. I believe we were brought together not by chance. She is my home.”

It’s clear that Sam and Nichole are so much more than addiction. Nichole says, “addiction is only a label” and it’s not who she is. She focuses her time and energy on being a mother, a partner, a leader, a child of God. Sam describes himself as a person with sarcastic wit, and a great son, a loving boyfriend, an open ear to all who just need someone to listen, and an aggressive, authentic advocate for all.

Sam & Nichole, thank you for being a light. You are #morethanaddiction. 💚

To connect with Sam & Nichole be sure to follow EmpowerXmedia on Facebook.