The responsibility to give honestly is my job; the responsibility to take honestly is theirs and not for me to determine. I could go crazy trying to decide which homeless person is worthy and which is not. It’s one of the odd truths about life in New York City that some days a homeless person… Continue reading You Can't Keep It Unless You Give It Away
Tag: Features
Bingeing on Horror No Longer Works, What Do I Do?
This insatiable hunger to feel scared has almost completely jaded me, and now I have no idea what to do with this realization. As a kid, I was scared of literally everything; as a teenager I was perpetually living in all forms of fear — of the real world and the imagined — as a result… Continue reading Bingeing on Horror No Longer Works, What Do I Do?
Death Threat: The Unique Dangers of Grieving in Recovery
Though I’ve developed tools for dealing with heartache and anguish in sobriety, this level of grief is a sadness on steroids against which I feel futile and frightened. My father’s older brother, Stephen Dale, died at age 69 in mid-August. He was more than the family’s patriarch; he was its ballast, its mooring. The home… Continue reading Death Threat: The Unique Dangers of Grieving in Recovery
A Space for Grief and Growth: The 12th National Harm Reduction Conference
When we demand answers without a deep, authentic understanding of the problem, we wind up putting band-aids on gangrene. As I wandered into the opening plenary at the 12th National Harm Reduction Conference in New Orleans last week, something felt off. It wasn’t just the four white-robed women on stage, solemn and elegant in contrast… Continue reading A Space for Grief and Growth: The 12th National Harm Reduction Conference
You Made It Through Sober October, What’s Next?
Recovery is not something we wear lightly; it is a lifelong challenge to recover our ability to regulate our bodies, heal from our trauma, and lead a healthy and fulfilling life. Sober October is a great way to gain awareness of your drinking — whether your goal is to get sober or just take a… Continue reading You Made It Through Sober October, What’s Next?
AA's "How It Works" for Everyone
Women have had to endure a generic “He” for God all these years. I am not rewriting the Big Book. I am simply asking for a moment to honor my God as a She; for a moment of freedom to express my God as I understand God. After attending AA meetings for 12 years, I… Continue reading AA's "How It Works" for Everyone
My "Beautiful Boy": David Sheff on Bringing His Family’s Story to the Big Screen
While watching the film, I would look over at Nic sitting next to me and get so emotional. I would start to cry and I feel like I’m about to start crying right now because I came so close to losing him. In “The David Sheff Solution,” The Fix interviewed the National Book Award-winning author of… Continue reading My "Beautiful Boy": David Sheff on Bringing His Family’s Story to the Big Screen
Post-Kavanaugh, Women’s Self-Care Needs to Lose the Alcohol
Alcohol, when construed as the first or best line of self-care, actually renders us less effective in resisting an exploitive system that makes legal space for our bodies to be legislated, controlled, and raped. “Should we get some wine?” I asked him, pushing a bit of sweet potato around on my plate. I felt my… Continue reading Post-Kavanaugh, Women’s Self-Care Needs to Lose the Alcohol
In Praise of the Geographical Cure
For me, leaving was about survival and going back to supportive friends and family who had known me my whole life and who would give me a temporary place to stay. When I moved to the city of my dreams, I drove my Navy Subaru Impreza stuffed so full that I couldn’t see out of… Continue reading In Praise of the Geographical Cure
The Rules of Marriage…In Recovery
Even though it’s a positive change, adjusting to marriage with a newly sober spouse is a challenge. Some situations are a little tricky to navigate. After being with my husband for 15 years, it might seem like there would be few suprises left. We have the kind of relationship that includes conversations like, “Hey, Harmony,… Continue reading The Rules of Marriage…In Recovery