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I wrap myself in a blanket of love
Most nights while curled up in my bed attempting to drift off into a sweet slumber, my mind begins to race. The stillness and the quiet allow unwanted memories to surface making it difficult to fall...
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Attitude of Gratitude
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about being angry. Anger has been a major theme in my life and in my writing for most of 2022. If I am being totally honest, I think I have used anger as a source of fuel...
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Welcoming Winter
This morning my 5:30am walk with Ted was greeted by the first snowfall of the season. Last week Ted and I took our final bike ride of the year. The 10 day forecast does not have a single day over 40...
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You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch
The holidays are here. There are only 37 more sleeps until Christmas morning. For most of my life this time of year has come with a mixed bag of heavy emotions. My overly sensitive heart throbs like an...
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Leaning Into Uncertainty
The Universe has been throwing me some serious curveballs lately. Last week my partner and I were supposed to move to a new town. I put in two weeks notice at my job. I started packing. I was excited...
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Redefining Success
My driver’s license was suspended in 2015 after my second DUI and I haven’t been able to get it back since. Not being able to drive limits the jobs I am able to take. If the job is not within walking...
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Leaps of Faith
Phew. How are we approaching mid-December already? Usually, December is a time for reflection and setting intentions for the New Year, but this year I have barely had any time to catch my breath. Last...
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A Love Letter to Baristas
If you read my last post, you know that I helped open a franchise-owned chain coffee shop this past week. Luckily, prior barista experience helped quell my nerves. I thought I knew what to expect...
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A Toast to the Winter Solstice
Today is the Winter Solstice. The solstice brings the fewest hours of daylight and the longest, darkest night of the year. Winter has officially begun. For many of us, the extra darkness and barren...
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Celebrating the Ordinary
Yesterday at work, one of my fellow shift leads asked everyone how drunk they got on New Year’s Eve like it was normal and appropriate. As you can imagine, my whole body tensed as I tried to contain my...
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I Forgive Myself for Landing Here
The first full moon of the year greeted us with its glorious presence this weekend. Friday evening at exactly 6:09 p.m. I welcomed the wolf moon with a pull from my tarot deck and a guided meditation....
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Sixty-Four Days of Meditation
The past six weeks of my life have been a wild, overwhelming ride. Leaving my old job two months ago has opened up some unexpected and magical doors. But sometimes, I wonder if starting two new jobs...
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Addiction is Not a Choice
“Addiction is not a choice that anybody makes; it’s not a moral failure; it’s not an ethical lapse; it’s not a weakness of character; it’s not a failure of will, which is how our society depicts...
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Developing Self-Trust
Indecisiveness is something I have struggled with my whole life. Growing up in a misogynistic, fatphobic culture meant that around age twelve, I learned the only way to be accepted was to ignore my...
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The Normalization of Alcohol
“We are supposed to consume alcohol and enjoy it, but we're not supposed to become alcoholics. Imagine if this were the same with cocaine. Imagine we grew up watching our parents snort lines at dinner,...
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Ugh, the Super Bowl
Ugh, the Super Bowl.Every time someone mentions this massive cultural event, I get triggered. In October 2015, I got arrested for my second DUI. Four months later, this commercial aired during Super...
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No Such Thing as an Alcoholic
My most recent piece of writing is up on the Debunking Addiction blog. I wrote it last week while reflecting on the 11th anniversary of my first DUI. When I first tried to quit drinking 11 years ago,...
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Seeing Triggers as a Gift
I experience triggering situations all of the time. Unfortunately, I imagine this is true for all people in recovery from substance use disorders. The reason most of us use drugs, alcohol, food, or any...
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The Criminalization of Addiction
My next piece of writing for the Debunking Addiction blog has been published. Here’s a link: Debunking the Criminalization of AddictionThis is a topic that boils my blood. Nothing is more inhumane than...
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Childless Thirty-Five-Year-Old Woman
Yesterday was my 35th birthday. Thirty-five feels icky, like a big fat reminder that my youth is gone. Every person who found out I was turning thirty-five responded by asking if I had kids. When I...
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Are All Women Addicted to Disordered Eating?
“As feminist writer Naomi Wolf argues, the times in history when women have made the greatest political gains—getting the vote, gaining reproductive freedom, securing the right to work outside the...
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Can I Use Cannabis and Still Call Myself Sober?
My most recent Debunking Addiction piece was published yesterday. Here is a link: Can I Use Cannabis and Still Call Myself Sober?Or, to make things easier on my end, you can just read the whole thing...
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The Media's Harmful and Inaccurate Portrayal of Alcohol Addiction
My latest Debunking Addiction post was published yesterday. This week’s piece was inspired by a front-page article in my local newspaper about a man who was publicly intoxicated. Read it here: The...
View ArticleRedefining and Rediscovering Fun in Sobriety
Summer and warm weather are upon us. Everyone keeps asking me what fun things I have planned for the summer, which, surprisingly, makes me angry. My most recent Debunking Addiction piece was inspired...
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Extreme Gentleness
It’s been a while since I have written anything. The month of May has been a wild ride. I moved from the tiny rural Michigan town where I got sober to a Detroit suburb two weeks ago. Everything has...
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