Just a Mustard Seed’s Worth of Faith
My recovery requires me to let go of my loved ones. I can’t do this without a strong faith in God. It only requires a small amount to start… […]
Year: 2022
The Face of Recovery
You might be surprised by what the face of recovery really looks like. […]
Creating Community
Back in July, my parish book club read my book, Helping Families Recover from Addiction. After they finished, they invited me to speak to their small group (5-7 people). When I walked into the room there were almost 10 people present. By the time we started, that number climbed to 20. I believe that my […]
Move Over Miss Manners
“Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter which fork you use.” Emily Post Thinking of my southern grandmother immediately calls to mind the smell of warm yeast rolls, cooling on a kitchen rack, fresh out of the oven. But, it also […]
The Courage to Come Out of Denial
I wonder if over-the-top portrayal of addiction frightens people enough to hide… Often when I see a movie or tv show about addiction, I change the channel. I bristle when there is an over the top portrayal of the disease. It’s like hearing someone with no real knowledge of how a southern accent sounds trying […]
You Don’t Have to be Mad to Set Boundaries
In my 12-step community, we talk about boundaries a lot. Boundaries are one of the best tools that we have. They are so important that entire books have been written on the subject. Since, I’m busy these days, I wanted to look for a small dose of information. Brene Brown’s “Atlas of the Heart: Mapping […]
Accompaniment: Breathe In, Breathe Out
“Every human being has a true genuine authentic self. Trauma is the disconnection from it and healing is the reconnection to it.” Gabor Mate, MD There was a story that made its way around social media platforms about a kindergartener who returned from the bathroom exclaiming, “I pottyed” only his pants and underwear were still […]
Hope is Hard
I was at Ave Maria Grotto in Cullman Alabama on Saturday selling/signing my book. Sitting at the table next to me was a young author who wrote a book on anxiety. Since our books are in the same genre, it was fitting that we sat together. Seeing the name of our books, some people would […]
Following Christ Crucified
I remember the day that I decided to stop being afraid. Even though it was a quiet decision, deeply held within my being, everything shifted. I try to remember what brought me to it but it remains elusive. Maybe it was a shift in tactic; from fleeing to fighting. Maybe it was a mustard seed’s […]
Love Them Where They Are
On a particularly crisp Autumn night, our meeting-room filled to capacity. There were no available seats left in the rows of tables arranged together to form a square. We started our meeting with the Serenity Prayer: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change, the courage to change the things […]