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#WomanCrushWednesday is here once more, and we’re continuing to celebrate women in recovery! This week we’re placing the spotlight on one incredibly open, loving, and strong woman named Brittany Shelton who has taken her recovery journey to the next level, using to to unite and inspire others to embark on their own through her website, Discovering Beautiful


#WomanCrushWednesday! How Brittany Shelton Turned Recovery into Inspiration

Brittany Shelton, Discovering Beautiful

After childhood exposure to alcohol and cocaine abuse by her young parents and self-described childhood traumas, Brittany Shelton admits that her own experiences with addiction began long before she would turn to substance abuse as an attempt to cope. She recalls her childhood home as being continuously hazed with smoke, nearly unbearably loud music, and the flashing lights of the police cars which would make regular visits. Growing up in the chaos of a father who regularly smelled of alcohol and would have to be towed home, and a mother who struggled to cope with manic depression and cocaine abuse, Brittany recalled that her happiest moments in childhood were when she was outside of the home.

For Brittany, her addiction began as it does for many: as a means of escape, a coping mechanism for the difficult life situations she faced since youth. Drinking in high school seemed like something everyone was doing, and for Brittany it provided the ability to let down her guard and enjoy life without carrying the weight of the world for a while. The pursuit of that uninhibited feeling lead to fights, mood swings between joy and weeping, and eviction from bars. Soon she began experimenting with various drugs, addicted to the feeling of not feeling anything- something many people can relate to.

On her website, Discovering Beautiful, Brittany Shelton details the struggles she faced during active addiction and since her decision to commit to sobriety. She notes that while she hit multiple ‘bottoms’ in her life before recovery, the decision to live sober was not triggered by “hitting rock bottom.” She sought true peace and the means to properly cope with the things she’d been running from. In her journey of recovery she has accepted truths about herself and her past that allow her to thrive beyond substance abuse. As part of her ongoing journey, she founded Discovering Beautiful as a place to share her own thoughts and experiences as well as give others a place for support and camaraderie. She offers a form for submitting your own story to help others find a community of support and understanding.

“I launched Discovering Beautiful hoping to empower other people. I write about my darker, less socially acceptable truths, because for so long, I believed that because of them I didn’t matter; that because of my DNA being so closely intertwined to trauma, addiction, and mental illness, somehow it meant my voice didn’t count. I was done hiding from my roots, running from my past, and only surviving with shame bearing down on my shoulders. I decided that it was time to speak out about the Hope I had found, and I want people to know that their voice counts.”

Who are some courageous women in recovery that you look up to? Let us know in the comment section!

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