Kristy Laschober had it all - a thriving business as an Orange County wardrobe stylist, a cute and devoted boyfriend, and a family who loved her. But beneath her fun and spirited demeanor was a hidden lifelong drug addiction. 

 

Born with a congenital disorder and consequently given narcotics when she was 10 hours old, this became a recurring pattern that would last throughout Kristy’s childhood, constantly in and out of surgeries. Though Kristy’s family was determined she would not be “sickly”, Kristy spent her life making others feel better about her suffering, pushing down the feelings of disappointment and shame that she unknowingly carried into her adulthood. 

 

Kristy battled her addiction bravely, and was even sober for a decade. That all changed one night when she was hospitalized for kidney stones, and a nurse offered her a shot of Demerol. Kristy was sucked back into her full blown addiction, supporting her drug habit by selling to other addicts, and eventually dropping her fashion career in favor of becoming a drug dealer. 

 

The client that finally took her down was dubbed “Monsignor Meth”, a Connecticut priest who made national headlines as part of a cross country drug sting that sent Kristy, her boyfriend, and the priest to prison. During Kristy’s five year prison sentence, she was forced to face the reality of what she had become. Trapped in 6x8 foot cells with women convicted of murder, grandmothers on conspiracy cases, nuns who were activists, a woman who attempted to bomb a theater in London because a famous actor was molesting her son (you know who he is), a man who identifies as a woman that robbed banks and a Mexican mafia wife, Kristy learned that trauma shapes us all in unexpected ways. 

 

Honest, dramatic and hopeful, her story of tenacity is an unflinching look at shame, addiction, the reality of women’s prison, and the overwhelming challenges that people with an incarceration history face once they are released. The faith and ultimate freedom Kristy found in prison is the driving force of her success, and is at the heart of how she inspires us all today.