Can unity exist in relationships? Yes! Of course, that didn’t seem at all possible to me at the beginning of my journey in family recovery. When my husband and I first met, we both knew something very important about relationships: how not to have healthy ones....
“As a child of God, I am all I need to be – loving, lovable, and splendid.” –Courage to Change, p.143 Alcoholism taught me a lot of false truths from a young age. When my father left to be with a woman he met in a bar, I believed I must not be very important. ...
Broken trust. It’s the primary issue that family members talk about when they discuss what’s been the most difficult for them when they’ve been impacted by the disease of addiction. They want to trust their loved ones again. Their loved ones want to be trusted. ...
Those who are new to family recovery are often surprised to hear members introduce themselves as “grateful members” of Al-Anon or Nar-Anon. In the midst of the chaos and struggles that often accompany alcoholism and addiction, what is there to be grateful for? It’s...
It’s a gray and rainy day, and I’m sitting in a room with a group of people who never wanted to gain entry into the retreat we’re hosting. They desperately tried everything in their power to never be here. They formulated plans, they had talks, they paid good money,...
“Detachment is not a wall; it is a bridge.” –Courage to Change p. 22 Detachment. It’s often viewed as an ugly word, at least at first, by family members who love someone who struggles with alcoholism or addiction. Many of us come with pre-conceived notions about...
As a young child, my father was in the depths of his alcoholism. I remember feeling frightened, confused and uncertain on some days, then happy, joyous, and carefree on others. I didn’t realize that my father’s drinking often determined which feelings would be...
I made it through another Mother’s Day. As a person who loves to celebrate, I definitely love the aspect of honoring the loving, nurturing women in our lives. And, yet, it can still be a reminder of something that is missing in my own life – something that I dreamed...
One of the great challenges for those still struggling with alcohol and drug dependency – and even for those in long-term recovery – is surrendering to a power greater than ourselves. Giving up the internal battle to control our own lives and letting...
