04/23/2026
Our final story! This gripping story follows Audey, a man raised on a hardscrabble farm in Vermilion County—slaughtering livestock, no running water or electricity at first—and where his parents and grandparents constantly partied. He saw alcohol as a normal part of life from an early age, drinking the remnants of the beer left over from their parties.
A straight-A, honor-roll kid, he moved to Danville, toughened up amid racial tensions, started carrying a knife, dropped out of school to party full-time, and progressed from ma*****na to acid, speed, crack, m**h, and he**in. He was a hard worker and made good money as a pipe fitter and iron worker, but prioritized drugs over his family needs.
Audey entered treatment multiple times, mostly court-ordered, before finally achieving sobriety through NA meetings. Eventually he drifted away from the accountability, and relapsed spectacularly, thinking “one more” would fix things. He blew through a large amount of money he had saved for a house, and then began to get back into the criminal behaviors he'd been involved in before.
On May 3, 1991, he chose to attend an NA meeting instead of helping his friends with a big job. They went to prison, and he’s been clean ever since.
Now decades sober, he credits working the steps, serving others, and living out recovery in his home, work, and in the community. His story is a powerful testament that no matter how far down you go, recovery is possible, miracles happen, and life sober is worth fighting for.
