'Below Deck' Star Captain Sandy Yawn Celebrates 34 Years of Sobriety: ‘I Was Broken’
On Tuesday, the 'Below Deck' captain opened up about what led her to becoming clean and sober back in 1989
Captain Sandy Yawn has come a long way on her sobriety journey.
On Tuesday, the Below Deck star opened up about getting clean and sober 34 years ago, saying that she made the decision in 1989 after finally feeling "worthy" enough to do so.
"34 yrs ago today I was broken," Yawn, 58, wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter). "I felt hopeless and didn’t feel worthy to look up at the sky, I tried for yrs to stay clean & sober."
"On August 29th 1989 something shifted inside of me. For the 1st time in many yrs, I was able to look at the sky and feel worthy. #sobriety #odaat," she added, the latter hashtag being the acronym for "one day at a time."
Related: 'Below Deck Mediterranean' 's Sandy Yawn Describes Moment She Realized She Was Having Heart Attack
Yawn has previously shared, including in her book, Be the Calm or Be the Storm, that there have been generations of substance struggles in her family. She fell into drug and alcohol misuse as a teen — after growing up between her parents' homes — which resulted in multiple life-threatening incidents and arrests.
"Someone's keeping me alive for a reason," the kidney cancer survivor told PEOPLE just after her book release in January. "I should have been dead 10 times over with the lifestyle I led."
The Be the Calm or Be the Storm author said that penning her first book was a cathartic experience and that in order to help others, she wanted to be open about her past.
Related: 'Below Deck' 's Captain Sandy Reflects on How a Motorcycle Crash Saved Her Life
34 yrs ago today I was broken. I felt hopeless and didn’t feel worthy to look up at the sky. I tried for yrs to stay clean & sober. On August 29th 1989 something shifted inside of me. For the 1st time in many yrs, I was able to look at the sky and feel worthy. #sobriety #odaat pic.twitter.com/meEu4dAOF8
— Captain Sandy Yawn ⚓ (@CaptSandyYawn) August 29, 2023
"I have no shame and no fear," Yawn told PEOPLE. "Everybody saw me when I was a mess. I've seen the bottom so I have nothing to fear."
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She continued, "My goal for the details of my past struggle is to show people, like CEOs of companies, that if you invest and actually help someone, the return on investment is tenfold because you are helping them change."
"I wanted to show people that you can change," the Fort Lauderdale, Fla. native added. "There is hope and if you are in the art of self-leadership, anything is possible."
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