Pieces of Her, Pieces of Me

My wife is in post-op right now following a procedure that took her four smaller toes from her right foot. She was scared to death prior to the operation and expectedly upset that a clot in her leg ended up claiming some of her digits. She'll recover, of course, with time, patience, determination, and courage. … Continue reading Pieces of Her, Pieces of Me

Monster by Skillet

When you enter into recovery you learn that you are, in-fact, two different people in one body. That's not an assertion of mental illness, but a recognition of the reality that you are either a person that drinks and/or does drugs or you are a person that doesn't do those things. When you engage the … Continue reading Monster by Skillet

Day 49: Keep Calm & Stay Sober

The closer my wife gets to losing her toes, the closer I get to losing my mind. And my patience. And my temper. And my self-control. I feel as though I am perpetually on the ragged edge of completely losing my shit. I'm angry that fate is being so unkind to my wife. I'm angry … Continue reading Day 49: Keep Calm & Stay Sober

48 Days: Irascible Me

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol - that our lives had become unmanageable. Trying to "work the steps" while your life is in chaos can be damn-near impossible. I can admit without reservation or hesitation that the aforementioned First Step just plain pisses me off. I tend to be regarded by some as … Continue reading 48 Days: Irascible Me

38 Days: Going Off The Rails

ALL ABOARD........ My sobriety almost stopped at 37 days. Almost. After what was not my best day at work I visited with my wife at the hospital. There was definitive improvement in her condition and she welcomed me with the news that she would be transferred out of ICU later in the evening. Though she … Continue reading 38 Days: Going Off The Rails

35 Days: Sink or Swim

Last night I lamented that I felt like I traded my personality for my sobriety. In many ways that statement is completely true, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. The identity that I left behind when I stopped drinking was not a man that I wanted to keep being. It was that of a … Continue reading 35 Days: Sink or Swim

Day 34: Me or Sobriety

I'm tired of my sobriety. I don't mean that in a "I'm going to have a few drinks" kind of way (even though I can honestly admit that I do want to drink). I mean that in the sense that I feel like my sobriety is all I have become anymore. I get that I'm … Continue reading Day 34: Me or Sobriety

The Big 3-0

Today is supposed to be something to celebrate: achieving thirty days of sobriety. The truth is that every day of sobriety is a battle won and a small victory. For many recovering addicts, today yields a bronze coin to commemorate the occasion, a token of accomplishment, and a small reminder that if you can make … Continue reading The Big 3-0

Galatians Anonymous

Inspired by BibleGateway.com's Verse of the Day is the following passage from the Book of Galatians (presented in my preferred King James Version as well as the New International Version for the purposes of simplification): Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that … Continue reading Galatians Anonymous

Overcomer by Mandisa

The truth of recovery from addiction to alcohol and/or drugs is that the statistics don't work in your favor. Your chances of relapsing and returning to your addiction range from 50% to 90% (depending on a lot of factors). When your best-case scenario is that you have a 1-in-2 chance of successfully recovering, you know … Continue reading Overcomer by Mandisa