To watch the Spoken Word version click here It’s funny how, one day, you waltzed into my life, unannounced, and took my breath away. It was love at first sight. We meet when I was sixteen. Do you remember? You came disguised in the muscle relaxer that my doctor prescribed to treat my sciatica. It was supposed to only be a summer fling. But of course, you had other plans. You always seem to sneak back into my life somehow, uninvited, and overstaying your welcome. I say that but I didn’t really mind. I was just a kid having fun, making memories. Whether it was with weed or ecstasy or acid or pi ..read more

Feedspot.com It has always been a dream of mine to become a writer. In elementary school, I knew that I had a knack for the craft. In first and then third grade, I had won a competition called Young Authors. I’ve been writing ever since. But is a writer still a writer if no one reads their content? The answer is: absolutely! Writing is therapeutic and inspirational. A story shared, is pain lessened! Those of us in recovery know that there is no wrong or right answer when it comes to getting and staying sober. We each have our own pathways to recovery. Writing is my favorite coping skill! If I ..read more

How a movie helped me better understand my spouse’s daily struggles with Mental Illness You never know how you will react to a situation. You can speculate, yes! However, your true reaction has no dress rehearsal. Educating yourself, while important, pales in comparison to the-immerse-yourself-all-at-once-teacher called life. Something very eye-opening for me happened a few nights ago. With permission from my husband, Bill, I decided to write about it. I will give some context first. My husband is mentally ill. For the greater part of twenty years, as long as he and I have been together, he s ..read more

Nowadays the expectations are high You are expected to reach up and pull down the sky Work yourself until you die Keep a smile on your face Keep playing the rat race Keep working at a deadly pace Wipe out the human race Is there a God in Heaven Perhaps, Yes, or Maybe so The devil has come up from down below He’s here in every way, ya know Everyone is too busy With their perfectly manicured lawns Raising their perfectly manicured children As social media pawns A life for a like Photograph and filter twice Post them, hashtag my trauma It’ll read: #pettylittlesacrifice Because I don’t really want ..read more

Photo by bruce mars on Unsplash When you give an addict some Narcan It will enable him to breathe If he is breathing he will See that someone thought of Him as more than just an addict; They saw him as a person. ****************** When you give an addict some Narcan She will live to see another day. With that extra day, she might go to An NA meeting and see that she is not alone ******************************* When you give an addict some Narcan He might finally tell his doctor that He doesn’t want to self-medicate his depression any longer **************************** When you ..read more

If those suffering with substance use disorder were Dorothy, then a Peer Recovery Coach would be the yellow brick road! It is easy to pass judgment on someone struggling with substance use disorder with just a quick glance. This is often why many keep their addiction to themselves.   Those of us that struggle often appear selfish when they decide to remain in addiction. Often times this is merely a lack of direction and resources. The window of time where this person is ready for treatment is often narrow and fleeting. It usually comes about unprompted, in a singular moment when they fee ..read more

Photo by Dimitri Houtteman on Unsplash For those of you who are in recovery, especially early recovery: you will be judged. Shocker, I know. It will happen. It’s good to prepare yourself. Although you are making strides in recovery and want to shout it out through the rooftops(as you should) those around you will still be leary of you. They may question your every action. Frustrating as it is, know that it is part of the process. My suggestion would be an Al-anon meeting for your loved ones. If you’re like me, on the sensitive side, maybe even slightly an empath, you take every ..read more

My head hangs heavy for my friend Marc tonight A shining star he was until Covid-19 turned out the light. ******************************** Some knew his well, other not so much But there isn’t any life He hasn’t touched ************************************ It didn’t even matter if you knew him or not He would take you under his wing To the recovery community, he meant a lot ******************************** An old soul with a Harley in tow He was more than a peer coach, He’d light the way, above reproach ********************************************** You never felt lonely When Marc was there ..read more

How Looking into the Traditions of the Past Might Save our Future Photo by Dark Labs on Unsplash I’m taking a break from my usual format because there is something that is weighing heavily on my heart. I wrote a piece in 2018 called: Fighting for Everything while Fighting for Nothing. I never published it. I didn’t think many people would understand its message. I didn’t think it was relevant. However, the basic premise is that we as a society have become so complacent because, unlike our ancestors, we don’t have to fight for the basics: food, water, shelter, etc. If you are unf ..read more

It has always been difficult to accept my own duality. Some facets of my personality I like, while others I abhor. This is true for most people; we walk around in the juxtaposition of our dual identities. We contradict ourselves. However, one is simply lacking without the other. This internal war, in essence, is perfection. It is your yin to your yang and conversely your water and oil; your happy and sad. When you try to dominate and control it, is when you lose grasp of the true beauty; of its duality.  In times of stress or self-doubt, is when we as human beings tend to lose faith in ou ..read more