Story: Michael & Emily Werner

Married couple Michael and Emily Werner traveled different and difficult paths of addiction, but once together, after many struggles, they not only achieved sobriety but today are spreading the message of recovery throughout their community.

Michael, a two-tour Iraq War combat veteran, wrestled with chronic pain and mental health issues upon his honorable discharge in 2009 and soon was relying on physician-prescribed opioids. As tightened prescribing rules limited access to those medications, Michael turned to street drugs including heroin and crack cocaine.

Emily grew up in a chaotic household where both parents struggled with mental health problems and substance use. She turned to opioids as a young woman, reliant on the relief they gave her from the trauma of growing up neglected in a home where food was often scarce.

After Michael and Emily began dating in 2012, their addiction continued to progress, leading to involvement with the criminal justice system.

Things finally turned around after Emily’s arrest and she was sentenced to a year in Ottawa County jail. After hearing recovery stories from peer supporters, she attended all her drug programming classes and was released after 58 days. She went home and gave Michael an ultimatum to join her in attending recovery meetings. Their mutual sobriety date is Dec. 20, 2016.

In the years since, both Michael and Emily—now of the Sandusky area—received degrees from Bowling Green State University-Firelands in Huron. Today, they are both certified peer support specialists and urge the continued funding of peer driven recovery support services. We congratulate Michael and Emily for their recovery and thank them for their contributions to the fight against addiction.