And amid celebrating what was then-four years of sobriety, she added a reflection on her personal growth to achieve the milestone.
“There is so much stigma around the word alcoholism or the label of an alcoholic,” Jessica wrote. “The real work that needed to be done in my life was to actually accept failure, pain, brokenness, and self sabotage. The drinking wasn’t the issue. I was. I didn’t love myself. I didn’t respect my own power. Today I do. I have made nice with the fears and I have accepted the parts of my life that are just sad. I own my personal power with soulful courage. I am wildly honest and comfortably open. I am free.”
The mom of three—whom she shares with husband of nine years Eric Johnson—details her substance abuse in her memoir Open Book, including how she sought out the help of friends and family that November in 2017 to help her get started on a road to sobriety.
“When I finally said I needed help,” she told People in 2020 of the moment, “it was like I was that little girl that found her calling in life again. I found direction and that was to walk straight ahead with no fear.”
