*note: this one is not for the faint of heart. Proceed with caution. I’ve had several questions come in regarding commitment issues when it comes to people who fall into the sober-curious and non-alcoholics. Just people who generally want to live better lives and become the best versions of themselves, who realize that alcohol is not going to get them there. But don’t want to commit because they are scared. This piece is about why they are scared. As mad as it sounds, I am grateful to be a true alcoholic. For MANY reasons. For one thing, I have unlimited access to a FREE program and support sy ..read more

Pillar #2 TO A SUCCESSFUL ALCOHOL FREE LIFE: EVALUATE: PEOPLE PLACES + THINGS As a fledgling in recovery from prescription drugs and alcohol, I was sagely advised (by the people who'd been there) to take a good hard look at the people places and things I was surrounding myself with and participating in. This may sound simple. Rest assured it is not. Allow me to explain My number one priority my first year was protecting my sobriety at all costs. For me, this meant staying well away from "triggers," or, things that made me crave drinking/pill popping. For example, certain people I used to dr ..read more

In response to my 1000 days sober post (link in profile) last week, FOUR of you bravely shared that you are between 1 and 76 days SOBER!!!! How amazing is THAT?!!!!! Can I get a round of applause for these incredible humans please?!!! One of them asked what advice I could share in order to be SUCCESSFUL. This is something I haven’t addressed in a while. Maybe ever. Anyhow my cogs started cogging. I thought it made sense to turn this into a series so we can cover all FOUR ingredients to the sober main course in detail. FOUR days this week. *Please note: these pillars are not gospel truth, nor s ..read more

On December 29, 2020 I made 1000 days sober. 1001 days prior, if you had told me I would make it this far without a drink or any mind-altering substance, I would have told you go and blow that ridiculously absurd notion right up your wazoo. Then long blinked. Then poured you another glass of red. They say that around 2 years sober, your brain finally reaches its healed state. The tiny pink eraser of mercy rubbing out decades of abuse. One slow, steady, nonlinear glide, at a time. The injury incurred our most precious and magnificent power house. From years of swelling and shrinking and wringin ..read more

As this epic year rounds to a close, I encourage you to start thinking about what you want and who you want to be in 2021. Dream big. Because if you don’t have a vision and you leave your life to randomness, it’s going to take hella long to get there. But it certainly doesn’t have to. Now… there are as many ways to map out your dreams as there are starfish in the sea. But if you’re like me and prefer step-by-step instructions, I highly recommend Rachel Hollis’ START TODAY journal (now conveniently available at Target). This will my third year doing what I like to call my “December Dream Dump ..read more

I didn’t do it perfect. I certainly didn’t do it pretty. BUT I did do it without a drink, without a pill and without a binge. 2020, I mean. So far. Quarantine was announced on March 13 2020. Since then, I fear (slash KNOW) that my posts, writings, pictures and posts have been mainly a cry for help. A plea for you to like me. An appeal for attention and sympathy. And I’m ok with that. I forgive myself. Because that was where I was. Still am to some degree. But this morning I woke up with a renewed sense of hope. Like the reset button has finally been smushed down and risen back up level again ..read more

Part V of the Stimulant Sagas By an act of Congress , I am finally able to lift myself from the dense haze of confusion and brain-numbing migraine that followed my hospital visit that followed the pill flush. *(If you missed the previous stories to this series on stimulants, head on over to the blog, stonesobermom.com to catch up.)  I wash my face and take a steamy shower, hoping this will rinse off the filmy layer of last week’s ickiness.  I pad my face with a plush turquoise towel and wonder what I will do next. Now that my body is rid, for the first time in 15 years ..read more

That was a Thursday. The toilet dump. No, not THAT kind. The one where I flushed my remaining pills down the toilet. I had to collect them from candied corners of my purse and the insides of coupled socks where I had tucked them safely away in case of “emergencies.” Luckily, I remembered the precise locations of each bi-colored capsules and every blue half and quarter. Did that make me smart? I have no recollection of the Friday that followed. My first day stimulant free. I’m not sure how on earth I made it through. Probably riding the high of being free once and for all. The astronomical cac ..read more

If my BEST thinking got me wherever I was in the spring of 2018, then my wiring was clearly corrupt. I would need to be gutted, demoed, renovated, forklifted and re-foundationed. Preferably by someone fancy but passably cool, from HGTV.  Few people know this but I actually quit drinking about a month before I quit stimulants. After reading Annie Grace’s book “This Naked Mind: How To Control Alcohol,” it was very easy for me to stop drinking.  (If you want to learn how to control your drinking, y’all, please order this book TO-DAY. It is so so good. It single-handedly changed my lif ..read more

My youngest was 2 months old when I received the first golden ticket for a new miracle drug. The one I was convinced would save me. I was prescribed a starting dose of Vyvanse: 20 mg, and given instructions to report back in two weeks if I “felt” I needed to up the dosage. Ha. Haha. Hahahaha. In 10 days I was phoning the office to punch my way up to 30. And so on, each week, in increment of 10. I knew I’d end up maxing out at 70, but obliged the “powers that be” in a weekly song and dance like a good and patient patient *(—>insert —> halo over head: hands interlaced beneath, in support ..read more