Episode 79: Through Addiction, International Drug Trafficking, & even Incarceration she Made her Comeback!

Emily dives into her story that began in 2013, turning to substance use, she met someone through work, a close person she trusted. She embarked on a vacation with this friend and a few days into the trip, she was informed that they had to both bring drugs back through the border and this left her feeling trapped. Emily was coerced into strapping drugs to her body on the return flight, followed by her arrest at the airport, plead guilty on charges for importing drugs and spent four years in federal prison. Emily expressed feeling devastated, stupid, and regretted missing the signs and red flags that were present that she hadn’t paid attention to. The red flags were not apparent until much later. Emily experienced feeling more furious at herself than she was at the friend who got her into the situation. Initially on house arrest for two and half years followed by the guilty plea with four years in the federal facility. She experienced a great deal of shame after her bail hearing, had difficulty looking at her parents, and seeing how terrified they were. She later explains that her mental health was on the back burner, she was in a frozen state, feeling in limbo. While in prison she felt revenge on the person who influenced her situation, and in prison, she was surrounded by people who condone violence, and this perpetuated a desire to punish her friend. Emily went through a roller coaster of emotions related to anger and revenge and fixated in an anger trap is how she describes it. Her key message to the listeners is that: you don’t have to be in a physical prison to be in prison, whether it’s marital, financial, environment or injury prison, but it’s more about what you do with it; focus on growth; allow your emotions; no one can dictate your journey; mistakes are universal and so are comebacks.