“Pulling a geographic? Come to Jackson Hole! Great public transportation, decent jobs, and a beautiful environment to be miserable in.” It can be a scary thing to go back to the place you hit your “bottom.” It can also be extremely rewarding with unexpected miracles and blessings. I hit my bottom in Jackson Hole, Wyoming… Continue reading The Blessings of Going Back
Tag: AA
True North and the Geographical Cure
What it was like then: misery that had me researching the methods and means of suicide in the middle of the night on my cell phone, back turned to my husband, who was fast asleep, and to my children, asleep between us. The geographical cure: false hope that a change in circumstance might transform us.… Continue reading True North and the Geographical Cure
Do You Want To Know What I’m Thinking? Me Neither
I gain peace when I choose not to suffer. It isn’t easy, but neither is being miserable. I’ve got a big mouth, a lot of opinions, and little hesitation about expressing them—even when I haven’t done the homework. No matter how long I’ve been sober, how many meetings I attend, how many times I work… Continue reading Do You Want To Know What I’m Thinking? Me Neither
Lineages of Addiction: Interview with torrin a. greathouse, a Trans Poet in Recovery
“I always compare myself now to a night when I was drinking and I looked in the mirror. I saw a lie, wearing a suit and full beard, and…I tried to kill myself.” A point on a map is the product of two dimensions, the x and the y, or longitude and latitude. For example,… Continue reading Lineages of Addiction: Interview with torrin a. greathouse, a Trans Poet in Recovery
More Than One Way to Recover: A Guide of Pathways
Regardless of how we achieved recovery, it is our responsibility as members of the recovery community to better inform ourselves (and others) of the other options out there rather than suggesting that our way is the only way. We live in a country where 45 million American families are affected by addiction. The statistics are… Continue reading More Than One Way to Recover: A Guide of Pathways
"The 13th Step": Inside AA's Subculture Of Sexual Predation
“There are groups in AA where you could call it a meat market,” says one former AA board director. Sexual predation in Alcoholics Anonymous is a troubling and common occurrence, according to The Orange County Register. The “avalanche” of allegations against former Hollywood power players like Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey “have been a horrifying reminder… Continue reading "The 13th Step": Inside AA's Subculture Of Sexual Predation
Owning My Space as a Woman in 12-Step Programs
I am totally within my rights if I say no, you may not sit there, and no, I don’t want a hug and I don’t want a cup of coffee and just back the fuck off because I have mace in my purse. Several days after I took my last drink, I was detoxing at… Continue reading Owning My Space as a Woman in 12-Step Programs