WOMAN FINDS THE PATH TO BEAT DRUGS

Kimberly Madison is poised and confident, well-dressed, with
sunglasses perched atop her thick, dark hair.

"She glows," says a friend, Mary Petrella.

It's a big jump from Madison's dull-eyed photo of six years ago, when
she was a drug addict whose one-woman crime spree meant prison stints
in Florida and Alabama.

"It's like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," says Madison, 47. "I do look
better now than I did at the end of my 'using' years."

Much more than her appearance has improved, too.

Madison has been out of prison for two-plus years, off drugs six
years, she said.

She's about to get a junior college degree; she's mentoring two women
who have drug problems; she's reunited with her family. Next: She
plans to get a bachelor's degree and help women deal with addiction.

"I'm very fortunate to have support from my family," she said. "I put
them through the wringer."

Downward Slide

Madison was 33 when she got divorced. She soon began using larger and
larger amounts of cocaine.

"Within eight months, I was completely, utterly devastated," she
said. She lost her house and car. A grandmother took custody of her three sons.

She credits much of her success to Pathways for Change, a program
that she didn't even complete. It focuses on making Escambia County
Jail inmates deal with issues that lead to drug abuse.

"We can change the way we act," Madison said. "It was a revelation to me."

Still, she quit the program in anger and soon found herself in prison
for several years. Madison looked at the other inmates and, "Then it
hit me: I'm not like this anymore."

The Road Back

Madison, a Mobile resident, immersed herself in spiritual study,
substance abuse classes and education.

"I must have done 200 Bible study correspondence courses," she said,
adding that school helped tremendously.

"Psychology courses have taught me so much about how our minds work," she said.

She set goals for herself - at six months, three years, five years.

Long-term, she wants to establish a program for women inmates. Jails
help drug addicts get clean, she said, but few are equipped to help
inmates deal with the underlying causes. Treatment is expensive;
relapse is frequent.

Still, "People aren't disposable," said Madison.

She remembers "people who were willing to give their time, resources
and energy" to her, and she knows she might not be free and vibrant
today without their help.