Just a few years ago, Meredith White was sleeping in the woods,addicted to crackcocaine and trapped in a pit of despair.
After the now 48-year-old first tried cannabis at the age of just 13, her life fell into a slippery slope ofdrug abuse and crime, which saw her spent time in prison, sell her body and even take on a "sugar daddy".
But now the mum-of-three has completely turned her life around and is unrecognisable as she enjoys more than two years of sobriety.
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Meredith exclusively told the Daily Star about her harrowing story and how she now helps others through her TikTok account.
Growing up in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Meredith was first exposed to violence at the age of eight when her dad shot her mum after a messy divorce.
While her mum survived the incident, it left its mark on Meredith, leading to her trying cannabis for the first time in the eighth grade.
By 15, she was hanging around with the “bad kids” and she started dating a 24-year-old who introduced her to coke and acid.
Less than a year later, she “overdosed on cocaine for the first time”.
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After marrying an ill-fated marriage to a youth pastor in her early 20s, Meredith became a school librarian and looked to have her life back on track.
But once again, the drugs quickly came back to haunt her.
“Somebody introduced me to crack cocaine. It ruined and took part of my life. The first time I tried it I was instantly hooked”, she said.
By 24, Meredith had met a new man and had a little girl and while she steered clear of drugs during pregnancy, it wouldn't last.
Meredith and her partner "went on a drug spree", her partner took their child and ran away for three months and furious, a revenge-seeking Meredith turned up to her ex’s house and “shot him” in the arm.
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To her disbelief, her lawyer reduced a 25-year prison sentence down to a five-year probation. But after giving birth a second time, she broke the terms of her probation and served two years in South Carolina State Penitentiary.
Despite being the best “mailbox mom” in the slammer, she admitted: “I hated myself for what I did, hated myself, for the mom that I was and I hated myself up until I got recovery.”
By 27, out of prison but also out of luck, Meredith became homeless and started “running the streets” as her addiction spiralled.
After giving birth to a third child – "the most precious little boy" – she became even more desperate for cash and met a 77-year-old doctor who became her "sugar daddy".
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Her mum dobbed the pair into the cops, and adopted all three of her kids, which on reflection Meredith is "forever grateful for".
In despair, she started shooting heroin and became known as “the prettiest and nicest crackhead” on the street.
She even starting selling her body, and spent extended periods living in the wilderness.
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“I've slept in the woods with nothing, just slept in the woods because I had nowhere to go”, she admitted.
“I didn't care about anything anymore and I had abscesses on my arms. I've blown my veins out so much that I had to have a surgery.
“I was selling my body, I worked for an escort service, which was the scariest thing ever.”
But after years of leading a tumultuous life, the pandemic hit and to her “surprise”, Meredith’s mother said she could move home.
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She arrived home with “one suitcase of clothing to her name”. While she was able to get off the drugs, Meredith instead moved on to drinking. After “making a fool” of herself at her son’s football game, tripping over a bin, one coach brought her to an AA meeting.
Now, Meredith’s life has been turned around and she’s 32 months sober. With help from her AA sponsor, the hatred she once felt for herself had dissipated and been replaced with love.
She spends her weekends as a soccer mum watching her son play football for an MLS academy team, and gets to catch up on missed time with her two daughters too.
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Since getting clean, Meredith has built a massive community of 90,000 TikTok followers, acting as her support network.
“I've had people tell me that they got sober because I helped them out and that's the greatest feeling ever.”
You can follow Meredith here
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