In 1992, a simple trip to an off-licence in the Lake District town of Ambleside became a pivotal moment for Anita Bhattacharjee. Told by the woman behind the counter that she could not be served on police orders, Anita's confusion turned to panic as she discovered she was barred from every licensed premises in the entire town.
The Wake-Up Call That Changed Everything
The ban followed an incident where Anita had fallen asleep in a public space and woken up in a police station. Released without charge, the custody sergeant's ominous warning—'You'll remember me'—suddenly made terrible sense. With no legal way to buy alcohol, she was forced to confront a dependency that had defined her life since taking her first drink of cider at just ten years old.
"I thought it was the best thing I'd ever had," Anita recalls of that initial experience. "Suddenly, I belonged. I felt confident, happy, free." This moment sparked an obsession that escalated through her teens, leading to drunk classes, suspensions, visits to addiction centres, and finally expulsion from her A-level studies after just four months.
Despite attempts by family, friends, and health professionals to intervene, Anita felt an unshakeable loneliness. Her first detox in a mental hospital at age 19 felt alien, and she left rehab after only six days, embarking on two years of rough sleeping and a deepening sense of hopelessness.
A Cry to Live and the Path to Purpose
In March 1995, aged 22 and having been sober since the previous November, Anita travelled to India with a grim resolution. "I decided to go on what I considered my last month on Earth before drinking myself to death," she says. However, in a library in Puducherry, a transformative moment occurred.
"I heard a voice shout 'I want to live' back at me," she explains. Realising it was her own inner voice, newly loud and clear, she committed to returning home, attending recovery meetings, finding a sponsor, and changing her life.
Sobriety alone, however, wasn't enough. She needed structure and a way to reconnect. Walking into her local Royal Voluntary Service, she found the answer. Starting with Meals on Wheels, she gradually rebuilt her confidence through volunteering in roles from hospital trolley rounds to working in a magistrates' court café.
Building a New Life in Service to Others
This newfound purpose gave her the courage to return to college in 1997 to retake her A levels, passing with an A and two Cs. In 2001, she graduated with a first-class degree in sociology and social anthropology, winning a department award—a moment of profound joy shared with her relieved family.
Her working life blossomed to include student coaching, pastoral roles, and ESOL mentoring for refugees and asylum seekers. For the past 20 years, she has supported addicts in recovery, and since 2018 has taught mindfulness in adult education.
On 18th November 2025, Anita celebrated a monumental milestone: 30 years of continuous sobriety. Her journey from being banned in every Ambleside pub to a life of service stands as powerful testament to the possibility of change.
Her message to others struggling is one of hard-won hope: "To anyone trapped as I was – unable to live with alcohol but unable to live without it – find your local 12-step recovery group. The future you cannot imagine may be waiting for you."
