RE: My introduction; Riches to rags. A recovering alcoholic. What I lost and what I gained.
I wouldn't be the best advisor at writing, but I guess that building two opposite characters, one being all that you don't want to be anymore and the other one being who you aim to become.
You tie both together and put them in situations they'd have to get out, each with his own mindset.
On one side you have the experience to describe that "former you", which could be a good way to see yourself from a distance, and on the other side, that unkown "future you" who would be hard to describe, but I think would also be a constructive experience.
Even if you don't like what you write, those fictive characters could help you find the words designing what to leave and where to go, and could build some intersting story if you let your imagination go wild :D
Very interesting and thanks for the advice. Sounds like it could almost be fun to write when you put it that way😊
You're welcome :)
Even dramatic experience can be seen afterward with a bit of humour, as long as it doesn't lead to self-punishment or excessive self-mockery.
That "future you" has to find the nice way to go despite the "former one" trying to divert and slow her down... A bit like these scenes in movies with two opposite-minded prisoners tied together and trying to escape from jail :)