True Crime with Kimbyr - Evil Minds: The Bright Young Woman Whose Life Was Stolen by Darkness: Part 1

Episode Date: May 19, 2025

In this episode of True Crime with Kimbyr, Kimbyrleigha dives into the heartbreaking and haunting story of Sarah Louise Caffer—a vibrant, compassionate young woman with dreams of becoming a lawyer. Raised in a tight-knit Australian community, Sarah’s life was filled with promise... until it was tragically cut short. Why would anyone target someone so full of light? With her signature blend of deep research and empathy, Kimbyrleigha explores the chilling case that has haunted her since she first heard it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sometimes there are cases that are so evil and twisted, ones that don't make sense to those of us that are compassionate to loving people with a conscience. But there are monsters walking among us that seem to lack even the slightest bit of humanity. This is one of those stories. It'll leave you asking why and questioning whether you can truly know anyone, because some humans have truly evil minds. Now let me introduce you to Sarah Louise Kaverkeke. She was born on June 20th of 1990 to her mother, Noel Dixon, and her father, Adrian Kafferke, who met in the early 1980s. They ended up purchasing a home together in a close-knit rural community of Bacchus Marsh in Victoria, Australia. It's got a small town feel where everyone knows everyone, and new faces will definitely stand out in a crowd.

This area is known for its fertile soil, extensive agriculture activities, particularly its orchards, its market gardens and vineyards, and it's a suburb on the outskirts of Melbourne, Australia. Sarah grew up in a loving environment with close family and friends, but when she was only nine months old, she and her parents relocated to Queensland, Australia, due to her father, Adrienne, getting a new job. This was actually a 22-hour drive away, so that's quite a bit of a move from everything and everyone that they knew.

It's a much bigger area of Australia with a coastline stretching nearly 4,400 miles long. And things went well for about two years, And unfortunately, the relationship between Sarah's parents began to fall apart, and they decided to amicably separate. But they did remain on friendly terms for Sarah's sake. However, Sarah and her mom, Noel moved back to Backus Marsh, where Noel had family and friends, which would provide a much better support system, especially when you're growing through a separation and you're becoming a single mother. But Sarah still saw her father on a regular basis.

She would actually fly with her mom, Noel, and they would go to Queensland, so she would be. she could visit and continue to have a strong relationship with her dad, Adrian. And he would also fly out to see Sarah until Sarah was about five or six years old, and then she began flying to Queensland all by herself as an unaccompanied minor. And she would do this at least a couple times every year. Adrian said that Sarah would raise a person's spirit with just one glance, and he recalled that she once even shut down an airport. Yes, I explained that when she was traveling, she would go by herself.

Well, when she was 12 years old, she heard a group of men talking about, joking about some things that were prohibited by the airport. There's actually a sign near the security screening point that said they take jokes about terrorism very seriously. Well, Sarah's family referred to this sign as the Sarah sign after this trip because Sarah reported those men and all the flights were stopped, all the planes were grounded. And this just goes to show you that Sarah took safety very seriously and she spoke up when she thought, something was wrong even at such a young age. Her father said that Sarah, quote, always spoke up strongly for things she believed in, for friends, and other issues. She was a true giver and always there for people. She felt deeply the pain of others, end quote. Of course, Sarah had a fun side as well. She was bright and bubbly, and she was known to have a great

personality. She loved poetry, writing, and she was a friend to everyone she met. She also loved anything pink and fluffy. Sarah's mom, Noel, did not actually go on to have any more children because she was already close to 30 when she had Sarah. So she said that was it. That was all she was going to do. And Sarah grew up as an only child getting all of her mother's attention and they were very close. Sarah had big green eyes and golden blonde hair as a child. She was very loving and she and Noel did everything together. She was Noel's life. And it was just the two of them for a very long time. The mother and daughter were companions, confidants, and best friends. As a child, Sarah attended Koyimadai Primary School in Bacchus Marsh until she was in the 10th grade.

This is a very small rural school. It almost looked Amish to me. I mean, what do I know? But you can see the pictures if you're looking and not just listening. They engage in a lot of outdoor activities and hands-on learning. Their website says they aim to develop students who are happy, optimistic and confident in their community, the core values of responsibility, fairness, honesty, self-discipline, cooperation, and respect. After this, Sarah went on to attend secondary school at Bacchus Marsh Grammar School. Now this is what we in the US would refer to as high school. This was a private high school in her area and throughout her adolescence, Sarah was very academic and athletic. She did martial arts, running the high jump, and she even sang with the Australian

youth choir, which is a pretty big deal because you need to try out to get a spot there. Now, Sarah met one of her best friends at this time, Ashley Mehmed, in seventh grade at a camp in the beginning of the school year where students would get to know one another. Sarah went right up to Ashley and she asked her if she wanted to be in her cabin. That's just the way Sarah was. She was outgoing, friendly and she made sure other people around her were happy. And from then on, the two of them were inseparable. Sarah also loved acting. She was a huge. fan of the show, Ali McBeal. If you've never seen it before, it is about a young attorney

played by Callista Lockhart, who joins a prestigious law firm and the show follows the romantic and the personal lives of the main characters. Well, this inspired Sarah to want to become a lawyer one day. It wasn't just that she was inspired. She had a goal to become a lawyer because she wanted to fight for others. And she also tabled a little bit in modeling and acting, and she considered going into that field as well. But then something happened that she changed Sarah's teenage life. From a very young age, she always suffered from what was believed to be asthma. But in 2005, at 15 years old, when Sarah was in the 11th grade and now attending a new school, a public high school called Backus Marsh College, which is still high school, just so you know,

even though the word college is in it. Unfortunately, Sarah was officially diagnosed with acute, severe bronchial spasms. This is a rare form of asthma. It's also known as bronchiospasms. They're very uncomfortable contractions in the lungs and it makes it very difficult to breathe. The severity of someone's symptoms is actually related to how narrow the airways or the air flows restricted and in Sarah's case they were very severe. She suffered from constant asthma attacks, some which actually resulted in Sarah having to be hospitalized. Once an attack would occur, they didn't have much time to rush Sarah to the hospital. Many times she would actually have to go by ambulance and she also needs to be on a daily medication. This caused

caused her to miss a lot of school, especially when she was in the 10th and 11th grade, and it also strained her relationships with her friends. She was in and out of the hospital, so she wasn't able to socialize enough or as much as she wanted to. Her mom, Noel, made the decision to finally homeschool Sarah in order for her to be able to complete the 12th grade and graduate from high school, which was very important to Sarah to finish her studies because she wanted to work within the justice system as a lawyer, and she knew that she would have to have strong academics going forward. At first, having or getting to stay home from school may seem like fun to a teenager. And Sarah didn't let it get her down. She was known for her positivity,

her positivity, and whenever she was up to it and not feeling ill, she spent her time with her friends and enjoyed the outdoors whenever she was well enough. Sarah also loved animals, especially her family dog. A black Labrador named Sprocket. It was like her best friend. She was very attached to her and they had quite a strong bond. But, Over time, it seemed like the lack of social activities began getting to Sarah, and she rebelled, which is actually pretty common for teenagers. She was no longer interested in flying to go see her dad like she used to because now she wanted to stay close to home and hang out with her friends.

And in 2006, around the age of 16, Sarah began experimenting with alcohol. Now, this is not something her mother condoned or even allowed at home, but Sarah would obtain it from friends. And eventually, since she was very impressionable at that age, she began to experiment with other substances as well, including marijuana, ecstasy, and even GHB. If you don't know what GHB is, I don't really want to try saying the whole word, but I will try. It's short for gamma hydroxybutyrate. It's a party drug. And that produces feelings of euphoria, confidence, relaxation, and sociability.

It's kind of like a more intense feeling of being drunk from what I read. And they call it liquid ecstasy. It's also been known to be used by predators who would spike victim's drinks with it so they could take advantage of them. Now, the negative side effects of GHB can include drowsiness, vomiting, mood swings, dependence, as well as more serious symptoms of unconsciousness and respiratory collapse that could lead to a coma or even extreme cases lead to death. And we already know that Sarah had a severe breathing problem. So, of course, this was not good for her. I also want to stop right here for a moment and just say to please. do your best to be compassionate, anyone, especially teenagers, can end up experimenting with

substances. And I just try really hard and want you to try to please not pass judgment on others too harshly, especially a teenager, because their mind isn't even developed yet until their mid-20s. And many times they're convinced by their friends in order to be cool or be part of the friend group to try this. So pure pressure is a real thing. So please give Sarah some grace. I've definitely seen a lot of comments throwing blame at people who end up trying drugs, doing drugs, or even getting addicted. Yes, it is their choice. But usually the intention is just to have fun and nothing more. And unfortunately, many times, teenagers do become addicted and relying on drugs.

And they go down a path they never intended. And spoiler alert, this eventually does happen to Sarah. She was already going to therapy to deal with her emotions surrounding her asthma. So once she confided in her therapy, that she had been experimenting with substances, Sarah began receiving counseling for that as well. Despite this, she was using them frequently, and her mom noticed that her bright and bubbly girl

was becoming withdrawn and moody. They already have so many other things causing mood swings like hormones, so now adding this on top of it was a lot. Sarah was still trying her best to be productive in between these bouts of sadness and darkness. She got a job, but then unfortunately, And then unfortunately, the asthma attacks, they would come on and no one knew what was going

to trigger them. So it was hard to be consistent at anything. Not to mention that Sarah was not open with others about what she was going through because she did not like telling anyone about her condition. She didn't want them to treat her any differently. She suffered in silence. And only her close friends and people very close to her like family knew what she was truly going through.

Years went by and as Sarah got older, she was still in therapy. And sadly, her dependence on substances as an escape continued. But she still dreamed of becoming a lawyer. And eventually, she enrolled to study social justice. By 2011, when Sarah was 21, she was also excited to get a job at a local pub in town called the Golden Fleece. For someone as beautiful and friendly and outgoing as Sarah, it was the perfect fit. But it was right after Sarah turned 21 that things in her life got even worse.

Enter Christopher Stewart. Sarah and Chris, who was a local guy, began hanging out regularly in September of that year 2011, and eventually they started dating. At first, things were going really well. Chris seemed really sweet and caring, but about two months into their relationship, Noel began seeing signs that Chris was not a good influence on her daughter. Sarah was not ready at that point to confine in her mom about what was really going on in her new relationship. But as it turns out, at some point, she did open up to her best friend Ashley, and she told her that she was smoking a lot of weed and that things were not good with Chris. Then, eventually, in the months following,

Noelle saw some very concerning text message exchanges between her daughter and Chris, where Chris was verbally toxic. He would send these very possessive and jealous messages, not letting Sarah go out with her friends or have any freedom. And that's when Noelle confronted Sarah. At this point, not only did Sarah admit that things were bad with Chris, she also let her mom, in on a very big and dark secret. Chris had introduced Sarah to a new drug, ice or crystal meth. Of course, this was shocking to learn. Any parent would be super concerned upon hearing that their child is taking an illicit drug,

especially something like meth. It is a very addictive drug. Those not familiar with the drug, it looks like small, chunky, clear crystals, and that is why they call it ice. It's usually smoked and when you do, you feel the effects almost immediately. It can also be injected or swallowed or snorted and it's an upper like cocaine. But unlike drinking or doing coke or smoking pot, the effects of meth last for up to 12 hours. It's a stimulant. It makes people feel happy, confident, have increased energy, decreased appetite.

So it can be appealing to a person that likes to be thinner. But users also have an increased sex drive, euphoric feeling, feelings, so you could see it could be easy to become dependent on it. At first, all those things I just mentioned sound like positives, but obviously there are many negative aspects of doing this drug as well. I think most of us know this, but even if people use it just once, they can experience paranoia, confusion, violence, and their bodies can even overheat and they can have seizures or even heart attacks, even if they're young and healthy. That doesn't happen to everyone, but everyone who does it has to come down afterward, which doesn't feel good. They feel exhausted, they can get

headaches, and they can start hallucinating and feel itchy, and the list goes on and on. So they tend to chase another dose to get that feeling of all the happiness and the confidence and the energy once again and not feel gross. So this vicious cycle continues. If you've watched one of my favorite shows Breaking Bad, you would know how all of this works and how in demand and what a problem meth can be in so many communities and it is truly heartbreaking so please again be mindful that even though this is a choice i encourage you not to judge sarah too harshly we all make mistakes it doesn't make sarah a bad person or stupid addiction affects all walks of life all kinds of people well when sarah told her mom about this she acted like it wasn't a big deal she's like i have it

under control since sarah was not one to lie to noelle her mom believed her Besides, there were no outward signs, according to her mom, that Sarah was out of control. There was no odd behaviors. And her mom said there were no physical signs. She looked the same, still as beautiful as ever, which is interesting, and it's a very important thing to note. It's not always evident by the way someone looks about what they're going through when it comes to drugs. It can happen vast, but it can also take years for those signs to show on the end. outside. What was evident was that Chris was bad news. He came from a troubled background,

filled with violence and drugs, and the friend group that he had introduced Sarah to were also regular drug users. It's hard to comprehend when someone like Sarah saw on Chris, but it might be as simple as recognizing a kindred spirit who is struggling to overcome their demons. But it didn't take long for the relationship to become problematic. Chris would systematically isolate Sarah from her friends and send her nasty text messages. Whenever she did something that he did not approve of. Not to mention, he was an addict. And Sarah was trying not to do drugs.

But when emotions are involved, it is so much harder. Sarah desperately wanting to get clean. But she knew she would not be able to do that if she stayed in a relationship with Chris. So after she spoke to her mom, she promised she was going to break up with him and go to rehab. But ending things with someone like Chris is easier said than done. Sadly, this was the beginning of the end for Sarah. but she didn't have a clue what would end up happening. No one's not coming.

And even if you try to guess, you probably can't. Because it's most likely not what you think is going to happen, but you'll know soon enough. When Sarah told Chris that things were over between them, of course, you could have guessed he got angry, he lashed out, he told her that no one else was going to want her, that she was just a junkie and that she was nothing without him. During a fight, he climbed onto the roof of their townhouse

and threatened to throw himself off if she didn't take him back. Yikes. And people sometimes wonder why a woman will stay. Well, when you're kind-hearted like Sarah, you're usually the type of person, a person like Chris will target. And then you fall in love. And it's hard to watch someone that you love

say they're going to jump off of a building, even if they're not a good person or the best person to be with. Over the next few months, Sarah made every effort to move on with her life. She and Chris would break up, and then they would get back together again, and she kept following back into her addiction. So over the next year or so, she knew that she would not be able to get clean without help.

And Chris was still bothering her. She would still give in to him. And so many times people like Chris will use a person like Sarah's drug addiction to entice them to continue seeing them. Yes, this is evil and it's sick. But they know the pull that the drug has on them. So they bait them into being with them again because of the, I'm going to do air quotes, the fun that they used to have together when they were high. This is a very typical scenario with these toxic drug-related relationships.

The drug is now used as a tool so that Chris could try to get Sarah back. Well, finally, in August of 2012, at 22 years old, Sarah attended a detox program so that she could finally move on with her life. She really wanted to get back to her studies and away from drugs. Now, as part of her recovery, Sarah kept a diary of her time in the program as she resided in room number eight at the rehab center. And I was able to get a hold of a number of these entries. Now, I read all of them, and I cannot read all of them to you because this video would be three hours long.

Some of you would love that. But I do want to share a few of them, because it's not all the time that we get to hear straight from a victim, to get a glimpse into who they really are from their own perspective on life and on everything that they're going through. So first, I want to read you a poem that she wrote about finding her way back to herself after addiction. It's titled, Can I Have Her Back Now? Try to give it your undivided attention because it's so well written, and I'm sure that we can all relate to it in one way or another. Now, I'm going to put some light music on while I'm reading this so that you know these are Sarah's words. And when the music is over, I will stop and it'll be done. Here we go.

When you can say no, you don't want to. And when you want to say no, you can't. Believe me when I say that it's no measurement of the heart, you fake it to you take it to you. you make it in a lifestyle it's an art. The only art surrounding your soul into the dark. Begins with blissful ignorance, you're blind to your own behavior, no sense of responsibility, and lack of human nature. Help us like a child, just waiting for a savior. A clouded conjoint state of mind replaced one wise and clear, abandoning her moral grounds with hopes of no more tears. As fearless as a coward, none of this feels right, throwing so much energy into a self-destructive life.

How did the darkness overwhelm such a beautiful sparkling light? What happened to the little girl so determined why not fight? Alone, analytical, and just too young to listen, her thoughts become possessive, and her life a demolition. What happened to that little girl with an amazing contagious smile? Burdened by the world around, delusional and in denial. Specific date of when and why suddenly become irrelevant. The line has been crossed.

It's a blur. It's now just for the hell of it. What happened to the motivation? the glimmer in her eye, a longing to escape reality with a forgetting sense of why, a compass pointing north with all senses screaming south, the constant battle in her head looking to get out. Soul searching scorned by an insecure perspective. Becoming more loss became her one and only objective. The world won't stop spinning for a poor tortured soul. Shovel in hand, covered in dirt, she dug her own hole. Why can't she see the effects of her embrace, the power she had to put

a smile on the sourest face. Why did she leave us and where did she go? With her presence still here, but her soul a no-show. Not a minute more will I let her back down. Seriously, Sarah? Can we have you back now? End quote. End of her entry.

End of her poem. And wow. Just wow. That could literally be a hit song in my point of view because it speaks to so much more than just addiction. We have all lost ourselves in something. and then we regret it at some point in our lives. And poor Sarah, I can feel her pain.

And she's so intelligent. She is so well-spoken and so talented with words. And yet, so lost. There were many entries in Sarah's Rehab Diary, eight whole days where she went into detail about her entire day, her thoughts and experiences, but I questioned a rehab that only lasts a week. I mean, I am not an expert,

but I know enough about addiction to know that a month, month is usually a minimum amount of time that they recommend committing to kick an addiction. And that's a minimum. With something as addictive and destructive as meth, I'd imagine that you need much longer. So a part of me felt like either Sarah was misinformed or naive, thinking that a week would change anything. Usually the detox is a week and then there's an intensive rehab mentally and psychologically. And once that's completed, outpatient care is next, which consists of a person going to meetings

every week multiple times. The medical detox is just the beginning, and that is what that week is for. But Sarah probably thought she was strong. It's physical, it's psychological, and it's a mental illness. The withdrawals themselves are extremely dangerous and uncomfortable, and it's known to be a drug that's notoriously hard to quit.

quit because it destroys the dopamine receptors in the brain, making it hard for a person to experience pleasure on their own. And that's truly sad. This can lead to depression and then more of a craving for the drug. So it's the sick cycle. I looked on a website about addiction and there's a minimum of a two-month timeline for kicking an addiction to meth. And that's just the start. There's so much that goes into it, like a strong support system, getting away from the people who do it, even if they are friends, family, or your significant other, getting rid of all the paraphernalia, exercising on a regular basis, and beginning more healthy behaviors to replace the toxic ones, building hobbies so that you don't crave it.

Sarah probably went in thinking that maybe if she could physically get clean, get it out of her system, then she would be strong enough to stay clean. Her first entry in her diary was very telling, and I am going to read it because it's so important for me to let you know Sarah for who she was. And we only have this one video. And again, I will play some music so that you know it's a quote and an entry from her. She says, quote, wow. So here I am in detox. It's hard to fathom how I got to this point. I guess that's a trouble with addiction. When you can say no, you don't want to. And then when you want to say no, you can't. That's a quote from a movie I watched a while ago. A movie that I had such a

a connection with, I could relate to the circumstances before they had even occurred in my life. I hate that this quote, along with all of my drug-related knowledge and experience was stuffed deep into my subconscious, as to feel no awareness of my situation. I was lost and seemingly wanting to stay lost. I'm so selfish and ungrateful for having such a bad lack of judgment. I am weak for surrendering my powerful, strong mind to a clouded conscience in order to escape reality. I know better. I am not weak. I am determined, strong-minded, and righteous. I am scared to learn. I am nothing more than a hypocrite. I'm afraid by the fact I was so blind to my behaviors. I hate that by being so ignorant, I came across as a know-it-all. And most annoyingly, a hypocrite. These are not the

personality traits I want to define me. I understand and accept the extent of my drug addiction and substance abuse. I have manipulated friends, family, stolen, taken money and many times gone out of my way to put myself around drugs. And realizing this disgust me. I can't imagine the heartache of my friends and family who have no choice, but to sit back and watch me destroy everything they've helped me create. I cannot describe the sorrow I feel for hurting those that I love. It discussed me that I was so deeply addicted to drugs that I was oblivious to the world around me.

Everyone was trying to help me. I am so ignorant. I hate the extremes I would make people go to. to just to try to get me to listen. I couldn't be more appreciative of the people around me and couldn't be more grateful of their efforts and the fact they are still here to support me today. It is now my turn to make the effort.

I wish I had have noticed the signs sooner. I now know what my situation is and where I stand. I am going to beat this. Drugs will no longer drive my life or cloud my perspective. I need and will take responsibility for my actions. I will push myself and strive to be the amazing, grounded, generous, selfless person I can be. I want to fix my wrongs.

I want responsibility. I want to work for the things I want and need. I'm going to return the favors to every single individual who I've encountered on this journey. I aspire to be the generous caring person I once was. I respect all the amazing people in my life, and I need to be show them that my actions will speak louder than my words positively as opposed to the past. I will change. I will be me again. I will love again myself and life." That's the end of that first entry in Sarah's Rehab Diary. You can see she's a very determined

woman. She knew what she wanted, she regretted her actions, and she had a clear plan in mind for her life. Drug addiction makes me so mad. because I truly began to get to know Sarah and I felt so connected to her as a person. I read all of her daily entries for that week. She started out scared and uneasy. She even had to be prescribed three volumes just to get through her detox in addition to her other medications. But by day two, she had gotten some good sleep and was less afraid, but more aware of her situation than ever before.

And she was paranoid and began speaking with a drug counselor. She still had to take two volumes that day. and she realized she needed to address some underlying anxiety issues. She also realized that taking volume wasn't the solution because all it did is make her sleep and not deal with anything. By day three, Sarah only had one volume because she really couldn't relax. Remember, she's going through massive withdrawal symptoms, but she said that that day was a game changer for her. For the rest of the day, she did not use any more volume and she was able to stay focused, which made her become more shocked.

at the realization of her circumstances, she started to finally come out of her shell a bit, and she was ready for the long journey that she knew she would have to go on to truly move forward in life. She said, quote, today I poked my head out of my shell to realize it is what it is,

and I'm now ready to move forward with my life. I understand this will be a long journey, and I will face so many bumps, distractions and temptations along the way. The outcome though is very simple. I know how to do the right thing. It really is a simple, as just doing so.

P.S. looked into the mirror today, and for the first time in ages, I saw the sparkle of my soul in my eyes. That meant a lot to me, end quote. On day four, Sarah's mother, Noel, came to visit her. And at first, she was really happy about that. But then Sarah realized she couldn't let that be the highlight of her day because she didn't want to rely on others for her happiness.

But as she thought about it for a moment, she realized she missed her dog's brocket a lot and kind of expected to see her, but then understood that dogs probably weren't allowed in a hospital setting. By day five, Sarah was homesick. She woke up feeling grumpy and she just wanted to go home. But her mood changed when her cousin Emma came to visit. She was so grateful because she knew how busy Emma was but she took that time to come visit her and bring along with her a special doll that was supposed to be good luck. It's the same doll that Emma brought to the hospital when family members were ill, hoping it would help. And Sarah said it really did.

It changed the way the room felt. She described it as peaceful bliss. Her mom also made a little surprise visit that day, and she was so grateful to have family by her side. She even ended up getting a workout in that day that made her feel really good and motivated. She woke up the next day, and she said she had a grouse sleep,

and I had no idea what this word meant. Grouse is an Australian and New Zealand slang term that means that something's excellent and great and outstanding or very good. Then on day six, Sarah said, she felt good. It was the most normal she had felt. Her entry that day was long. She also said that day she received the most gorgeous bunch of flowers from her dad. She wrote, quote, warmth fills my heart, as they look at the beautiful array of lilies and take in the message, symbol and meaning behind the

flowers. I love you, dad. Your thoughts have empowered me to stay focused. This small symbol of gratitude has given me an overwhelming feeling of never, ever wanting to look back. I won't look back. Just as I tell you not to look down, I love you, Dad." End quote. I'm sure that he cherishes those words, even today. I know that I would. And that night, Sarah was bored. She was bored, doing all the soul searching

and analyzing her past. She just wanted to go home. She said that there was nothing else to do except put her words into action. By day seven, Sarah was feeling more like herself, according to her in her journal. She started getting into yoga, which she said she may have found her new exercise of choice, she found it very relaxing. And that day her cousin Emma came by

again. But Sarah also was visited by a woman named Jane, who was on a mission to educate the public about meth and help addicts. She said they chatted for nearly two hours. And Sarah wrote about this experience. She said, quote, not only did she want to hear my story and give me great words of advice. She extended me the offer to join her on this mission. I couldn't be more excited by the thought that my bad experiences and lessons learned could be used to help others. I'm very motivated to ensure that when I leave here tomorrow, I will never, ever, ever turn back to drugs to escape life. I want to live my life to the fullest of my ability and use what I've learned to help others see. There is so much more to life than drug addiction. I need to help others see. They have a

meaning on this earth. And their life too is worth living to their full extent, end quote. I'm sad reading that entry. And I want you to remember what Sarah said, that she couldn't be more excited by the thought that her bad experiences and lessons could be used to help others. Take that to heart. Sarah also made that promise to herself

to never turn back to drugs. I wish she could have lived in that moment forever. In that safe place within the four walls of that room in rehab, but she had to go back to the real world. and by the next day, she was leaving. On day eight, Sarah started her entry by writing, quote, fully fledged free female, end quote. She was ready to go home,

and she was high on life waiting for her mom to come pick her up. She even wrote thank you notes for the entire staff. She agreed to a weekly urine test and said in her final entry that she wasn't bothered by doing this. She understood it was just a routine part of rehab, and she had no intention of relax. However, she believed the rehab center expected her to. She said, quote,

Others are just being realistic having dealt with drug addicts in the past. Though with me, I truly feel there is no turning back. I think I'm coping pretty well with having to constantly explain my perspective only to receive a look of willful doubt in my listeners' eyes. I get this. I understand. It's all been said before, and I only know how I feel inside. I will be patient with people as they have been with me.

me." So clearly what she's feeling is that everyone thinks she's going to go right back to doing drugs and she's trying to tell them, look, I don't know, maybe it's true, I will, but in my mind I feel like I'm going to do this, I'm not going to turn back. And she's going to try to be patient when people look at her like, yeah, no. Once an addict, always an addict. She went on to say she was finally free from roommate and she's got this unfamiliar energy pulsing through her body, but she realized it was from not being on value and not being stoned like she had been

every day for the past four years. But this new energy made her mom question whether she was on something when she came to get her. And that disappointed Sarah. She understood her mom questioning her, but she hated that it was going to be hard for Noel to trust her. But she understands it may take a long time to earn that trust back. She was willing to be patient. And in the meanwhile, productive. When she got home, Sarah started to play with her dog's sprocket, which she referred to as her beautiful baby girl and called her school so she could resume her pre-legal studies and social justice. She also looked for a job. She ended that final entry with, quote, can't wait to wake up tomorrow and see what this new day has to bring, end quote. That enthusiasm is contagious, but dare I say,

it's usually short-lived. It's common when a person accomplishes something for them to feel this newfound confidence, but soon they fall back into the normalcy of life and they become complacent once again.