Frankie Grande Celebrates a Year of Sobriety

Congratulations to Frankie Grande who celebrates a year of sobriety with a personal essay.

Frankie and Ariana Grande have a very close bond, so it is unsurprising that the pop singer’s older brother was also significantly affected by the Manchester Attack.

Having to confront the fear of losing his sister, while dealing with the loss of the 22 people killed in the bombing, Frankie Grande turned to drugs and alcohol to cope.

thank u my incredible sister. ur strength is what gave me the courage to ask u for help. & u selflessly were there for me the moment i asked, as u were for so many people during that difficult time. i love u. i can’t thank you enough. i could not have done this without u. at all. https://t.co/WOCiOyKuqM

— Frankie James Grande (@FrankieJGrande) June 16, 2018

thank you mommy. i could not have done ANY of this without the love and support you have shown me, this past year and always. i love you mommy. so happy you have your son back. 🙏☺❤ https://t.co/fGYxBCkN7N

— Frankie James Grande (@FrankieJGrande) June 16, 2018

In a letter written with PEOPLE Magazine that he later shared on Instagram, the Big Brother alum, who just biked 545 miles for the non-profit AIDS/LifeCycle, wrote about how the “party life” that had once been a source of confidence and comfort, had left him feeling even more alone.

“I tried to pull myself out of the darkness by drinking and abusing prescribed drugs as I had done in the past for so many other reasons… but that only made the hole that I was trying to crawl out of even deeper.”

Today I am one year sober… and the gratitude that I feel in the face of this milestone is measureless. After the tragic events of Manchester, with the senseless loss of life and the fear that came from knowing my family was unsafe and that I was completely powerless to protect them, I went to a very dark place with no tools to handle the feelings that came along with the devastation of the attack. I tried to pull myself out of the darkness by drinking and abusing prescribed drugs as I had done in the past for so many other reasons… but that only made the hole that I was trying to crawl out of even deeper. The party life that had once given me so much confidence and comfort had turned into a nightmare where I never felt more alone. I remember lying on my bathroom floor after a night of drunken debauchery believing my life had reached the point where living was just too painful and I was envisioning any way to stop the constant torment… I finally had the courage to ask for help. I got help… and I am here today because with that help I discovered that the path to the light was not in drowning my sorrows, but in facing them head on… in sobriety. I am here today as an example to all that have gone through a personal hell or are going through it right now, whatever that hell might be for you, that you can become whole again. In fact, you can become STRONGER than you ever thought possible. I am a new man, and the man you see before you is the one I was always meant to be. This decision to be sober is a lifetime decision. I live without needing a drink or a drug to change the way I feel or perceive my circumstances and outcomes. I have repaired relationships I previously thought unsalvageable and I am living my best TRUEST life. I have never been happier. I have never been healthier. I have never been so free. So let’s all celebrate my one year of sobriety together… may it be the first of many… and if you have ever found yourself in a cycle of depression where you are drinking and/or using to excess and you believe that there is no way out i am here to tell you there is help out there! You are ABSOLUTELY NOT ALONE! for help contact: AA: (212) 870-340

A post shared by Frankie James Grande (@frankiejgrande) on Jun 16, 2018 at 7:40am PDT

Finding the courage to ask for help, Grande has since learned how to face his sorrows “head on… in sobriety,” and serves as an example for those dealing with the same struggle.

“I live without needing a drink or a drug to change the way I feel or perceive my circumstances and outcomes,” Grande wrote. “I have repaired relationships I previously thought unsalvageable and I am living my best TRUEST life. I have never been happier. I have never been healthier. I have never been so free.”