Christmas eve was always good in the Green (My Grandparent’s last name) household. The leading-up feeling to Christmas had me excited every year! Everything from my Grandpa complaining about having to bring the tree in, it being too tall and having to trim it, him complaining because he had to climb into the attic to…
The renowned painter Pablo Picasso famously said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” This is also true for individuals who are in recovery. Yes, there are many evidence-based practices that are helpful in recovery, but it is also important to utilize creative healing practices…
I want to say I was around 11 or 12? Again, I try to keep my memories in order but sometimes when thinking about them, I cannot really remember my age or what order they occurred. I think sometimes I combined the memories also. My Mom came home again and of course…
SUSIE’S DAUGHTER: Addiction Addiction ” 1. a compulsive, chronic, physiological, or psychological need for a habit-forming substance, behavior, or activity having harmful physical, psychological, or social effects and typically causing well-defined symptoms (such as anxiety, irritability, tremors, or nausea) upon withdrawal or abstinence: the state of being addicted 2. a strong inclination to do, use,…
The renowned German philosopher Eckhart Tolle famously said, “Wherever you are, be there totally. If you find your here and now intolerable and it makes you unhappy, you have three options: remove yourself from the situation, change it, or accept it totally. If you want to take responsibility for your life, you must choose one…
I had to think really hard I will use this next memory and when it happened. I couldn’t remember if it was when I was 14 or 15. I do remember it was after I started my job at Big Boy (I almost spelled it at Big Boys with the ‘S” because…
The next few years went by pretty fast. When my Mom left the last time, my Grandparents decided to adopt me. My Grandparents had to put an ad in the Alpena news to my Mom and anyone else who may have something to say about my adoption. I am not really sure the legal reasons…
Many people may think that the best way to detox from drugs and alcohol is to do so “cold turkey,” meaning to stop doing everything abruptly. While, yes, recovery must include the abstinence of drugs and alcohol, doing so suddenly and all at once can be dangerous. This is especially true with alcohol and benzodiazepines…
The other day my friend texted me and reminded me that it had been 28 years since we made our voyage from our small little towns in Michigan to Phoenix, Arizona. Right before I graduated from Beauty school I was actually called by Nicole, everyone knew Nicole, she was one…
Three girls from small towns in Michigan, only 18 and 19 years old, did the craziest, scariest, and funniest thing a girl our age could do. Packed up what we could put in a “trunk” of a Fiero and headed out. When we were driving through Chicago and getting on and off our first “big…
