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Hello Diary •

What More Can I Ask For?

"Today is Day 15 of sobriety. I don't feel great, but I feel good. I am hopeful. Dare I say, happy? I shouldn't say that. I'm not particularly happy after all, but I am grateful. Living in gratitude, specifically. It's helping. My mom says I need more therapy. I tell her I am therapy. I mean this lightheartedly. I and psycho-therapy go way back; old friends, chums, pals. On good days, I think of myself as a reincarnation of Allan Watts and Bill Wilson. On other days, I practice humility..."
Hello Diary •

Part 2: The Relapse & The Realization

"After the snow melted, I retraced my path home. Twisting through 'The Gorge' and onward and over, finally reaching South Carolina as my son slept in the backseat, I gave some intentional thought to the past two weeks (and the past eight years.) This entire incident of traumatic loss reminds me of the five stages of grief. The relapse I experienced harnesses three of those stages.
Now, the first stage, denial, indeed began on December 8th. That part was long gone when I took that first drink two weeks ago."
Hello Diary •

Let Go For Dear Life

"At around hour thirteen of alcohol withdrawal, roughly 3:30 pm, I got in my car and drove 180 miles to my mother's house, where my son had spent the previous night. There are two reasons I made the trip: I needed my boy and an escape––one not poisonous as those I'd taken nearly every day since New Year's Eve. Truthfully, I'm an escapism junkie; alcohol is quick to the punch and most accessible for me, but it's all a matter of escaping someone or some feeling."
#parentingSLACKS •

Vol. 8: Emotional Sobriety

"Although coined by Bill W., co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, the term "emotional sobriety" applies to anyone with a sympathetic nervous system, regardless of whether you're afflicted with addiction. Emotional sobriety is a body/mind phenomenon. It encompasses the ability to experience and talk about feelings alongside learning to live life in balanced ways so that both the mind and the body can live in harmony. As we sober up emotionally, we expand our ability to tolerate what we're feeling, to live through fierce emotions without acting out or self-medicating."
Love What Matters •

‘The most unlikely teacher.’: How our dog taught me to love my mother unconditionally

“I answered my mother’s phone call that night nearly twelve years ago because I was drunk––the only time I liked to talk on the phone, despite hardly ever remembering any details of the conversations the next day. This time was different. I remember it well, all thanks to the hysteria in her voice that immediately killed my buzz.

“I just saved this poor little dog’s life! Paid three hundred bucks for him, and he’s not the purebred like they said in the ad, but I don’t care!”

She told me how th
Hello Diary •

An Open Letter to My Husband & the Woman He Fell in Love With

“It's too soon to write about this. The wound is so fresh it's oozing. But I don't see any other options in this landscape. I want to call on my best friend for a shoulder to cry on. But I can't go to him. He's front and center of the dilemma, right along with me. Except, for the first time since I became his wife—seven years, three weeks, and one day—we've entered a battle we cannot fight together. I am alone. He is alone. I am awake. He is asleep. He's in love with someone else.”
#parentingSLACKS •

Vol. 26: The Introvert's Guide to Friendship

"Friendship is one of the most critical relationships in our lives; buddy bonds provide an essential source of social support. In addition, a strong network of friends can help cushion stress, loneliness, anxiety, and other potential mental health problems.
Research shows that people with close friendships are more likely to experience positive emotions and live with greater satisfaction. So even one solid homie can do wonders for your mental health!"
Love What Matters •

‘I was broke, unemployed, and living in a storage closet.’: Woman sober after decades-long addiction battle

“I attended my first twelve-step meeting at only nine-years-old; my parents have been involved in addiction and recovery for as long as I can remember.

When I was twelve, they divorced. Sober living wasn’t going as well for Mom as it was for Dad. Thus, a significant pivot occurred, and life as I knew it changed.

Even though my father was a more fit parent, I chose to live with my mother. Deep down inside, I felt I could be the one to save her from the demons that drove her to use drugs.”

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