NOTE: This is the transcript of a speech given by Bradley-Ward at the Darkness Into Hope event held in Tutiyi (Snowbird) on Tuesday, May 5.
By MARISSA BRADLEY-WARD
Good evening everyone. My name is Marissa Bradley-Ward and I am a person in long term recovery from Substance Use challenges.
First, I want to say thank you. Thank you for being here, for showing up, and for believing in something as powerful as hope. It takes courage to sit in spaces like these- whether you’re here for yourself, for someone you love, or simply to understand. Your presence matters.
Tonight, I stand before you not as someone who has it all figured out, but as someone who has walked through darkness- and found a way to keep going.
My story, like many others, didn’t start with darkness. It started with being human. With feeling deeply. With trying to navigate life the best way I knew how. But somewhere along the way, things became overwhelming. Pain, trauma, and mental health struggles started to build, and I didn’t have the tools- or the support- to handle it all.
So, I did what many people do when they are hurting: I looked for something to numb it.
Substance use didn’t start as destruction. It started as relief. It started as a way to quiet the noise in my mind, to escape the weight I was carrying, to feel okay-even if just for a moment. And for a while, it worked- until it didn’t.
What began as a coping mechanism slowly turned into something that controlled my life.
I lost pieces of myself.
I lost trust.
I lost connections.
And at times, I lost hope.
Living with both substance use and mental health challenges is like being stuck in a cycle that feeds itself. The more you struggle, the more you want to escape. And the more you want to escape, the deeper the struggle becomes. It can feel like there is NO way out.
There were moments when I questioned everything- my worth, my purpose, whether I deserved a better life. And I know I am not alone in that feeling. So many people walk around carrying silent battles, believing they’re the only ones who feel this way.
But here is the truth I learned, even when I didn’t fully believe it at the time:
You are not alone.
You are not broken.
And your story is not over.
Recovery didn’t happen overnight for me. It wasn’t a single moment where everything changed. It was messy, It was hard. It was uncomfortable. It required me to face things I had spent years trying to avoid.
It meant learning how to sit with my emotions instead of running from them. It meant asking for help- even when my pride told me not to. It meant falling down and choosing to get back up, again, and again.
And one of the most powerful parts of my journey has been connection.
People who saw something in me when I couldn’t see it myself. People who reminded me of my strength when I felt weak. People who didn’t judge me for my past but supported me in building a future.
That is where hope began to grow.
Not all at once- but little by little.
Hope looked like getting through one day.
Then one week.
Then believing that maybe…just maybe…I could create a different life.
Today, I stand here in a place I once thought was impossible. I am living proof that change can happen. That healing is real. That even in the darkest moments, there is a path forward.
And part of my purpose now is to give back- to walk alongside others who are where I once was. To remind them that they are worthy of recovery, of healing, of a life filled with meaning.
Because recovery isn’t just about stopping substance use.
It’s about rebuilding your identity.
It’s about rediscovering who you are.
It’s about learning how to live – not just survive.
And mental health? That journey continues too. Healing doesn’t mean everything is perfect. It means I have tools now. It means I understand myself better. It means I know when to reach out instead of shutting down.
I still have hard days. But I no longer face them alone- and I no longer face them alone without hope.
If you are here tonight and you are struggling- I want you to hear this:
You matter.
Your life has value.
And no matter how dark things feel right now, there is still light ahead.
You don’t have to take ten steps today. Just take one. Reach out. Speak up. Hold on.
And if you are here supporting someone else- Thank you. Your presence, your patience, and your compassion can make more of a difference than you may ever know.
Events like this one are so important because they remind us of something powerful: healing doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens in our communities. It happens when we share our stories, when we listen without judgement, and when we stand together.
My past is a part of me- but it does not define me.
My struggles shaped me- but they did not break me.
And my story is still being written.
So tonight, I choose HOPE.
I choose to believe in second chances- and in my case third, fourth, and fifth.
I choose to believe in growth.
I choose to believe that even the darkest paths can lead to something beautiful.
And if I can make it from darkness to hope= I truly believe that anyone can.
Thank you for listening. Thank you for being here. And thank you for believing in Hope.
Bradley-Ward is the Re-Entry peer navigator at the Sunrise Community for Recovery and Wellness in Cherokee, N.C.
