Welcome to my little part of the planet, this electronic space dedicated to hope, healing, faith, family, recovery and the awesome beauty to be discovered every day in our every day – in all its glory and all its down and dirty grittiness. This little space – I like to think of it as the front porch of the century-old farm house I love and live in – grew out of the book, Unchained: Our Family’s Addiction Mess Is Our Message, which I wrote with my son JP. Our front porch is where we welcome those coming to our home and it’s a great spot to sit and enjoy the company of family and friends. Our family’s journey has continued since the last page of Unchained. And I invite you to join me in exploring the invitations life continually offers us to heal, to grow, to change and to recover the best part of who we were created to be.
Taking an Ax to Enmeshment
The enmeshment that is a symptom of the disease of substance use disorder is an insidious thing. Substance use disorder is a disease impacting – in one way or another – an entire family system. So, it can be very hard to clearly see where and when crippling enmeshment takes over […]
Nothing changes, if nothing changes.
Believe me, that 12 Step slogan was a lifesaver, when our family was struggling with the systems illness of substance use disorder. It is so damn direct. It challenged me to realize changes needed to be made to combat the symptoms of the disease of addiction in the life of my […]
Angels and Wild Animals in the Desert
Today is Ash Wednesday. In Christian faith traditions it marks the beginning of Lent – the 40 days leading up to Easter Sunday. This tradition is based on Gospel accounts of Jesus staying alone in the desert fasting from food for 40 days before he began his salvation ministry. For those […]
Prayer = Soul Care
Prayer is a place of refuge for every worry, a foundation for cheerfulness, a source of constant happiness, a protection against sadness. Saint John Chrysostom Prayer is one of life’s greatest gifts. It is a form of communication that no other created being has received. Prayer is our language with […]
God’s Sense of Humor: An Unexpected Penance That Helped My Marriage
My husband and I tried hard to find recovery solutions for our family when we were all deeply struggling in the systems illness of substance use disorder. In one way or another the lives of all six of us were impacted by this illness. As parents we wanted to get […]
Mama Bear Love
Who hasn’t been a Mama Bear for her beloved family? I know there has been countless times the world has heard my roar on behalf of my four children. When the systems illness of substance use disorder first began to impact my family, I had a Wish List compiled of […]
A New Year: Find Some New Keys
Old keys don’t unlock new doors. Unknown This week there is an amazing invite on the calendar. After the breathless sprint to the finish of the holidays (which truly starts the day after Halloween) we can hit the reset on New Year’s Day. NYD has always been about recalibrating. Making […]
Christmas Eve: The Gift of Tears
Everywhere it seems families are decking the halls, fa la la la la-ing and sharing tidings of comfort and joy. The its seems part is the hard part. Because for the thousands of families struggling with devastation from the illness of substance use disorder that Christmas season happiness is a […]
Waiting With Hope
This is the start of the season of Advent in many faith traditions. It is a time of intentional waiting. The practice of lighting four candles placed in an evergreen wreath against the backdrop of a dark winter night underscores the symbol of waiting with hope-filled expectancy for the light of […]
The Holidays: Seek Help and Recalibrate Expectations
The holidays were always times I dreaded during the years our family was immersed in the systems illness of substance use disorder. Once November rolled around, I could feel a big fat knot grow in my heart anticipating the weeks till January 2nd. Holidays spotlighted – with an unrelenting, harsh […]