Cassie L.’s Story

• 2026: More Than a Cup

Which Valley Hope location did you attend?

Valley Hope of Boonville

When is your sobriety birthday?

November 28, 2016

What do you remember about creating your Valley Hope Cup during treatment? What did your design represent at that point in your recovery?

I was overwhelmed! A lot of paint and supplies, not a lot of understanding what the cup would actually mean to me over time. It was a fun, creative activity to do while navigating detox, rehab, and processing how big life without alcohol felt. I chose my favorite color teal for the outside and used gold paint to write a line from my sorority creed: "Love life and joyously live each day to its ultimate good." This represents where I wanted to get back to... a state of happiness without having to use alcohol. On the handle, I used gold glitter paint to write "1D@AT" in reference to "One day at a time"=" which was helpful in not being overwhelmed with how big being sober forever felt at the time. The inside was painted gold to represent finding the shine within myself again and I wrote "You are on your own but you are not alone" along the rim. I am ultimately responsible for my sobriety but I have a community of support around me.

What did it mean to return for Renewal Day, see your cup again, and realize how much your life had changed in one year?

I had so much joy going back to Valley Hope to celebrate my one year anniversary of being sober. And I was so proud of myself! The scared woman that painted that cup put in the hard work for the strong woman that picked that cup up. It was a physical representation of who I was in the darkest days of my life and a trophy of staying accountable to myself to be a better me.

Today, when you look at your Valley Hope Cup, what does it symbolize for you?

Today, my cup sits in my office and I see it every single day while I work and it is a physical representation of how far I have come. The woman I was at my lowest didn't know how strong she was and how far I could go. It's a visual reminder that without my sobriety, I may not be thriving like I am.

Is there anything else about your Valley Hope Cup or your recovery journey that you'd like to share?

It's more than a cup. It's the potential to rebuild yourself and take control of what the outcome will be. There is no one-size-fits-all recovery journey and life will keep happening, both good and bad. Recovery gives me the ability to handle what comes next. It will always be on me alone to maintain my sobriety and every day, month, year I get to celebrate myself is a blessing. I've chosen not to keep my recovery journey anonymous because I was certainly not living anonymously when I was drinking. I'm proud to live out loud and share my recovery so others may see their potential too.