Front Porch Thoughts

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of...

Guidance and help were offered to me from a wide variety of sources, but I was very (narrowly) focused on how I thought recovery help should come to my family.

The distractions, disturbances and heartbreak inherent in the family systems illness of substance abuse disorder can make a vision for hope for our families seem impossible.

Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: You don’t give up. Anne LaMotte We don’t...

We all love our kids to the moon and back. We would walk on fire for them. But in a family system impacted by the illness of substance use disorder that loving instinct can go awry. Enabling behavior –...

“I plead with you — never, ever give up on hope, never doubt, never tire, and never become discouraged. Be not afraid.” Pope Saint John Paul II When parents I speak with parents seeking help, the fear, exhaustion and...

There comes a moment when you just know. You know the tipping point has tipped in the direction you always feared.  Your loved one is in the grips of something bigger than both of you. It’s not just a little too much...