Addiction Recovery for the Soul:
Ester Nicholson by Anthony Chiaravallo “Y
ou were cre- ated out of love—made
whole and perfect from the day you were born.” These are the words of Ester Nicholson, an addic- tion recovery expert and extraordinary woman who has gone from dysfunction to distinction.
Neglected at home
and a victim of emotional abuse by her mother, Nicholson gave birth to a daughter while still in her middle teens and was shortly thereafter introduced to snorting cocaine. Lost in years of addiction, she neglected her own child, indulged in destructive habits and nearly became homeless. Nicholson eventually found her
way to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), where their recovery concepts slowly began to seep in. With wise sponsors and teachers around her, she began the journey to healing. Still fragile and in danger of slipping, Nicholson blended the traditional 12-step recovery pro- gram with a spiritual pathway to realize the ultimate spirit within. Nicholson is now a renowned
backup vocalist for Bette Midler and Rod Stewart and a teacher, speaker and author who uses her own astonishing story as the core of her powerful book: Soul Recovery -12 Keys to Healing Addic- tion…and 12 Steps for the Rest of Us—A Path to Wholeness, Serenity and Success. Soul Recovery,
the process that Nicholson developed to heal herself of cocaine addiction— unifying the 12 Steps of AA with a spiri- tual pathway filled with metaphysical principles and practices—has guided thousands to their recovery and highest potential.
Natural Awakenings is delighted to share her wisdom with readers.
What inspired you to write Soul Recovery? There were times when I’d tell my story to friends about the abuse and tragedy of my childhood; the tragic, frightening and sometimes humorous experiences of my addictions—and then the abso- lute miracle of my recovery. They’d see and hear the passion and conviction of
my beliefs as I spoke, and the conversa- tions would almost always end with, “Ester, you have to write a book.” The book turned out to be so much more than about “my story.” It turned out to be a guaranteed path of recovery, if one was truly willing to follow the direc- tions as if they had nothing to lose, but everything to gain—with a little of my story included.
What was the defining moment when you knew your life needed to change? When I awoke my 7-year-old daughter at 3 a.m. from a sound sleep to walk around the corner with me to the drug dealer’s house to score one more hit; when a taxi driver pulled his cab over on the side of the road and looked at me with tears in his eyes, pleading with me not to go get more drugs; when I had a dream about my deceased mother, who was my abuser when she was alive, telling me in the dream that she loved me and it wasn’t time for me to die yet. I knew my time was becom- ing very short on this Earth, and I had to get help.
How did you come to be involved with Agape International? I was 10 years sober by the time I was introduced to Agape, but it wasn’t my first time having a direct connection to God. I was deep into the 12 Steps at that time and had hit a wall. I had out- grown the Steps and the fellowship but didn’t know what to do about it. One of the women I sponsored told me about this amazing choir at Agape and said that I should visit. I did, and I immedi- ately knew that I had found the avenue for my next level of growth.
To what do you attribute your suc- cessful recovery? My recovery is due to my tenacity and absolute refusal to give up, as well as my passion, belief, faith and convic- tion that I can live a life free from fear, low self-worth and woundedness. My love for the Divine and my direct con- nection to it played a large part.
How has your spiritual path influenced your road to recovery? My spiritual path is my road to re-
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