Recovering Out Loud
On October 16th, I celebrated 4 years living in recovery! I experienced a wide range of emotions leading up to that date, but on the morning of my anniversary I woke up with tears in my eyes because I felt so incredibly blessed. It’s still hard to believe I am able to live this life... Continue Reading →
The following conversation took place while I was speaking with the inmates at the Milwaukee women's prison this past Friday night. Me: "Welcome ladies! Thanks for joining me tonight." Woman: “You don’t look like one of us.” Me: “One of who?” Woman: “One of US!” She points to herself and her friends. “You don’t like... Continue Reading →
“Addiction doesn’t care whether I live or die, so it’s important that I do.” Vanessa Day
Over the past few weeks, I've been digging through my house trying to find items to sell in an upcoming rummage sale. Most of the items are my daughters, and as time has passed and she has accumulated more and more things, our home has started to feel slightly claustrophobic. Still, I’m having a hard... Continue Reading →
I've been having trouble writing lately. Every sentence, every idea. I've had an extremely difficult time finding my words. So I asked myself, "Am I just trying too hard?" I am just going to write today, with no "goal" in mind, other than to let some of these thoughts out of my head. If it... Continue Reading →
Change. I wasn't always the type of mom who took the time to braid her daughters hair, or read her books at bedtime, or paint her fingernails 5 different colors. I wasn't always the type of mom who let her daughter crawl into bed with her after she’d had a nightmare. I wasn’t always prepared... Continue Reading →
I was driving home from the store with my daughter tonight when Demi Lovato's new song Sober came on the radio. I had read that she recently relapsed and wrote about it in a song, but I hadn't heard it yet. Before I knew what was happening, I was overcome with emotion. As I listened... Continue Reading →
When I was a child, I was convinced that adults never cried. I thought that maybe someday I would reach an age where crying would no longer be my emotional response to things like fear, stress or anger. When this change didn't occur, I started to see those who did not cry as strong, and myself... Continue Reading →
I wrote this on a day when I was struggling. I was hurting for a friend who was slowly dying because they were refusing to reach out for help for fear of what their family and friends might think if they admitted they were addicted. My heart was breaking and I was sad. When I... Continue Reading →
