The Ritual of Recovery

This is why I love Elena Brower so fiercely. This particular meditation helped me when I was working so hard on self-love as a launching pad to my sobriety -- and it felt like nobody could understand me (and much less put it in words). I had drowned my ability to feel for so long, …

Recovery, by Glennon M. Doyle

Today I am re-blogging one of my FAVORITE entries from Glennon´s 2011 archives. I remember reading this for the first time and bawling. It was amazing that somebody out there "got me". Alcohol broke my heart every night and every morning I wanted to leave it... and couldn't. And the next night, alcohol would break …

The Deep Craving Episode (or how I beat my Drinking Demon, instead of relapsing again)

Today I beat my drinking demon to a pulp. I fought my illness good and hard on the wrestling mat. It was a terrifying match. I finished bloody, messy and exhausted...but I won. Against all odds, I won. What this means is that in the middle of an otherwise ordinary workday, smack in the middle of solid months …

Addiction = Running from pain (and love)

I was a witness to greatness last Friday night in NYC. Greatness, all rolled-up in a 5-foot uber-petite frame. Greatness in high heels, sassy blond hair and black leather pants. Glennon Doyle-Melton is greatness. And badassness. And raw-truthness (yes, I make up words, live with it). Glennon looks like a suburban mom (and frankly has a hotness …

The Cycle of Shame in Addiction

“I relapsed, had a slip and drank for days. I hate myself right now. I know I have an illness but I can not go on living with this person I have become. I have no respect for myself. I am full of self-loathing. I want to be able to look in the mirror and …

The Open Secret of our Addiction

Note: This is a transcript from the book Broken Open - How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow, by Elizabeth Lesser.  I normally write my heart/brain out in these posts, but this is too good not to share directly from the pages if this fabulous read. "Learn the alchemy true human beings know. The moment …

Proudly recovering OUT LOUD.

There is a lovely woman who was meant to be on my recovery path. One of the many magical things that the Universe has thrown my way recently. Her name is Sasha Tozzi  and she is a Unicorn - part Life Coach, part Recovery Coach, part Soul Explorer (www.sashaptozzi.com). I am about to get to know her …

Living Life on Life’s Terms (or how to stop arguing with reality)

How do we turn frustration into gratitude? How do we grow spiritually? How do we make the best of a bad situation? How do we learn to live life on life's terms? I grew up with a father who loved to "show the world" to his children. Travel and new experiences were a part of …

Redefining Recovery

Inspired by the book "A Place Called Self" The dictionary defines recovery as a reclaiming or "return" of something lost. According to this definition, a person recovering from addiction is reclaiming the health, sanity and well-being that may have existed before he or she became addicted. But that is not quite right. Recovery is more …

ONLINE SPONSORING? HELL,YEAH!!!

I just received my first email from a fellow woman in recovery via my blog. We met on Instagram and she reached out to me after reading some of my posts. OMG! YEAH!! (insert jumping girl here!). I am so so so thrilled. For 80+ years, the "secret" of recovery has stayed in the rooms …