Addiction is relentless, convincing and a master of deceit. It would have to be to pull someone as confident as I was into its grip and hang on that tightly for so long. From my late teens and beyond, I lived what I believed was a well-ordered life at the mercy of alcoholism and eating disorders. Juggling addiction with life unraveled when I had triplets and was faced with the task of raising a child with special needs.

I began a journey which led me to the realization that Adam, who had cerebral palsy, was not the only one in our family who needed help learning to walk. For Adam, learning to walk was the key to his independence. For me, reclaiming my life by learning to walk in recovery and faith saved my life. Adam led me to my life’s calling. My addictions led me to God who placed the reins of Adam’s Camp in my hands and gave me the willingness and gifts to found this organization for children with special needs and their families.

This book delves into the very deliberate process of healing. Yet it should be no surprise to any person of faith that God works through the most broken. As a Christian, I glean examples of this throughout the Bible, from Moses to David to the motley crew of disciples. My brokenness did not prevent God from working through me to offer hope and healing to others in the midst of gracing my life with hope and healing of a very different kind. If you find yourself in the pages of this book, my hope is that you will discover it is never to late to learn to walk.

Karel was born in Denver, Colorado in 1949. She attended Denver schools and received her BA in Education and English from the University of Northern Colorado in 1970. After teaching elementary age kids for four years, life lead her to her true calling in co-founding Adam’s Camp, a therapy program for children with special needs and their families in 1986. Karel has received numerous awards for service for her work with Adam’s Camp and has continued to cultivate her leadership gifts by serving on the board of her church as well as her recovery club. This memoir is Karel’s first book.