Happy new year! I’ve noticed that a year has a cycle of its own: The hopeful, verdant productivity of spring; the hot, leisurely lull of summer; the nostalgic, fire-colored winding down of fall; the final determined frosty push of winter. After December, though winter has still some proving to do, we turn to a new Read More
Category: Faith
Discomfort and Joy
Here in the thick of the holiday season, I’m feeling the confluence of discomfort and joy. I know it’s supposed to be comfort, right? “Let nothing you dismay…” Well, when you’re sober, you realize just how frequently the holidays present us with situations and circumstances that you’d rather drink away or through. When the old Read More
Does online connection count and other things introverts wonder about…
The verdict is in on connection and the general consensus is that it extends your life expectancy, increases your chances of staying sober in recovery and is necessary to thrive spiritually. Good stuff, unless you’re an introvert. Unless being around people wears you out instead of recharges you. I’ve written about my introverted nature before Read More
Weekend Book Review: Crossroads
Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen My rating: 5 of 5 stars Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction Edition Reviewed: Hardcover, 592 pages Published October 5th 2021 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux “It’s like there are these words, they’re out there in the world, and you start wondering what it would be like to say them. Words have their own Read More
Who’s in Control?
I come to you today, humbled, after having my grand plans for the month subdued by, you guessed it, Covid. My daughter came down with it the day after I declared my intention to awaken and join the world. Within days I found myself miserable and dormant. I am surprised at the extent to which Read More
September’s Word of the Month: Awaken
Washing dishes at the kitchen sink, mind wandering, my gaze falls on a healthy potted hydrangea offering up the last of its fading blooms. But this isn’t a sad sight; it’s amazing. I had long since given up on this plant, as the past few years all it could muster were a few leggy leaves Read More
Weekend Book Review: The Untethered Soul
The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself Author: Michael A. Singer Genre: Self-Help, Spirituality Page Length: 186 pages, auidiobook is 6 hours, 10 minutes Publisher/Publication Date: New Harbinger Publications, Oct. 3, 2007 “There is nothing more important to true growth than realizing that you are not the voice of the mind – you are the Read More
Heartbreaks
Yesterday evening my husband and I were watching a National Geographic nature show with my nine-year-old daughter when enjoyment turned to tears. We got to the inevitable point where the bear catches up to the newborn elk, who had fallen behind the herd, and you know the rest. My daughter ran upstairs crying and vowing Read More
August’s Word of the Month: Consistency
Ok, I know that Consistency isn’t a very sexy word…but the alternative is chaos. I believe consistency is key, especially for people in recovery; building a collection of actions and habits that contribute to your daily success. If we leave things to chance, our subconscious slips into the driver’s seat, and impulses and whims seem Read More
Weekend Book Review: We Are the Light
We Are the Light by Matthew Quick My rating: 5 of 5 starsGenre: Contemporary Fiction Length: 256 pages Publisher: Avid Reader Press/Simon Schuster We Are the Light by Matthew Quick (author of The Silver Linings Playbook) is an epistolary novel with a timely, if not tragic focus. After a mass shooting in Majestic, PA, where Read More