Collegian (Hurst, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 21, Ed. 1 Wednesday, April 19, 1989 Page: 21 of 30
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Wednesday, April 19, 1989
Collegian / Feature B 5
Biology major wins
battle with bottle
By Ora Beth McMullen
Staff Reporter
Three years ago, Lynn Andrews
(not her real name) drank a fifth of
liquor and a case of beer daily: she
wanted to die.
Today, Andrews carries 18
hours between TCJC and UTA,
maintaining a 4.0 GPA.
Andrews, now 32 and a South
Campus biology major, began using
drugs at the age of 14.
“Drugs came before alcohol
because they were more accessible,”
she said. “Smoking pot came first,
methamphetaminesnext. Idon’tever
remember having to pay for my
drugs.”
In 1984, Andrews, then 27,
stopped using most drugs, but she
continued to drink alcohol.
Andrews first got drunk at 15,
but her recollections of this event are
vague.
What she remembers are her
last days of drinking. ‘That is when
it (the drinking problem) got bad, and
my life fell apart,” she said.
“I was not eating, and I drank
all night. In the morning, I drank half
a glass of beer and some milk,” she
said.
Andrews continually fought
depression. But one day, she lost the
battle and slit her wrists.
Following this suicide attempt,
Andrews entered therapy at an
outpatient crisis center. It was here
that a counselor introduced her to
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA).
Andrews remembers a woman,
who recounted her experiences with
alcohol, at the first AA meeting she
attended.
“She was me. I remember
thinking, ‘Who told her about me?’”
she said.
The first six to eight months in
AA, Andrews continued to drink.
“When I left (the meetings), I
would get drunk,” she said.
However, AA members still
accepted Andrews.
“I met a lot of people who gave
me unconditional acceptance,” she
said.
As a result of her extreme
addictions, Andrews left her daughter
with her ex-husband.
One day Andrews’ stepfather
came to her. She does not know how
he found her, but he took her home to
Fort Worth.
Andrews found an area AA
chapter. S he went three days without
drinking, and gradually the length of
her sobriety periods increased.
At 29, Andrews quit drinking,
but during the first nine months of her
sobriety, she still wanted to die.
“A girl in the (AA) program
had a similar problem with
depression. I called her one night,
and we became close. And then she
committed suicide,” she said.
“I went to the funeral home by
myself; and when I stared into her
face, it hit me that she was dead. I
went outside and saw the green trees
and grass that she didn’t get to see
that day. I wanted to see the sunshine
and to see my daughter grow up,” she
said.
From that point on, Andrews
wanted to live.
“I notice sunsets now. Sunsets
are fabulous things,” she said.
Andrews attends AA at least
three times weekly.
“It (AA) is a booster, a place to
tell good things that have happened,”
she said. “It gets you to the next
thing.”
Andrews also volunteers to help
alcoholics and drug addicts.
“That will keep you sober
faster than anything. When you see
people’s lives falling apart, it takes a
part out of you. I remember it,” she
said.
Andrews attributes her recovery
from alcohol to others.
“I have a support network. I
use the counselor at school (TCJC) a
lot,” she said.
Andrews believes heredity is a
strong indicator of alcoholism. Her
natural father is an alcoholic.
Andrews entered TCJC in the
fall of 1987. She graduates in May.
This will be Andrews first
graduation since she dropped out of
high school, obtaining her GED.
Andrews has distinguished
herself at TCJC. She had an article
published in Script, the South Campus
literary magazine. She won three
scholarships. Her name appeared
this year in Who's Who in American
Junior Colleges. She is a Phi Theta
Kappa member.
Andrews hopes to become a
doctor one day. She will take the
Medical College Acheivemant Test
(MCAT) in April.
Andrews harbors some
reservations about going into
medicine, considering her past
addictions.
“Drugs will be readily
accessible. That is something (staying
away from drugs) I work on day to
day. But as long as I stay with my
program, I will be fine,” she said.
Andrews talks freely about her past
addictions in hopes of helping others
face similar problems.
“When you get to a point where
there is no hope, that is when there is
the most hope,” she advises.
“I am really happy with my
life where I am. I found out I can do
anything,” Andrews said.
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Collegian (Hurst, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 21, Ed. 1 Wednesday, April 19, 1989, newspaper, April 19, 1989; Hurst, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1047673/m1/21/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Tarrant County College NE, Heritage Room.