Honest, Open & Willing

Writings From a Grateful Alcoholic!

The Missing Piece in My Recovery: How Spirituality Saved My Life

Why reconnecting with a Higher Power—after years of self-will and survival—became the turning point in my sobriety. Looking for God...But...

5 min read

The Power of Community: Why Women Need Each Other in Recovery

Recovery was never meant to be walked alone. I once had so many self-help books on how to stop drinking, I could have opened a bookstore. The titles ranged from how to moderate your drinking , how to stop completely , how to take control , and every variation in between. Before getting sober, I devoured addiction memoirs—some I deeply identified with, others I used as proof that I was different from them… and therefore not an alcoholic. Most nights, I read those books in bed

4 min read

Sobriety is More than Not Drinking

What happens after you quit? The Lie of “Just Stop” On May 25, 2020—five years ago today—I began my recovery journey. At the time, I...

6 min read

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Softening into the Season

Feeling Overwhelmed This December? A Gentle Practice to Begin the Season The Month That Arrives Too Fast I read recently that there were once serious proposals to move us to a 13-month calendar — a whole extra month, neat and tidy, all the same length. And I’ll be honest: standing here at the edge of December, part of me wishes they’d gone through with it. Because somehow every year, one minute I’m hanging skeletons, and the next I’m tripping over Christmas lights in the gar

Old Tables, Old Roles: The Masks We Forget We’re Still Wearing

I had coffee with a friend recently — she lost her brother this year — and as we sat there savoring a quiet moment before the holiday rush, she glanced around the café at the families and children and sighed. “I’m the last of my family sitting at the Thanksgiving table this year.” My heart ached for her… and, if I’m honest, for myself too.Because in her words, I felt the shrinking of my own family — the once-rowdy household of five daughters and two parents that has slowly gr

Healthy Boundaries in Recovery: Mending Fences, Not Building Walls

“Mending Fences”: Boundaries That Breathe On growing up with no privacy, learning boundaries in sobriety, and why healthy fences still let love in. I have a problem with the term “boundaries” – with what it means and how to do it. It probably started with sharing one bathroom with four sisters and my parents. I’d be showering and someone would rush in, leaving me with a cold blast mid‑shampoo, or there’d be pounding on the door: “Hurry up!” My poor father would stand at the