I was an avid diver for years. Living in Florida, but not close enough to the beach for day trips, cave diving was the norm. It’s probably some of the most dangerous and technical diving that one can do recreationally, but because of that I made a point of planning, preparing, and triple-checking everything. It’s […]
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Mother’s Day Forgiveness
With Mother’s Day here, I am fortunate enough to have some great mothers in my life to celebrate with. Being clean and sober for myself means that I can be an active participant in the lives of these great women. Firstly, my wife is the best example of a perfect mom that I’ve ever seen. […]
Alcoholism is Dark, and Full of Terrors
As one does, I often spend my Sunday nights watching Game of Thrones. If you’re not familiar with the series, I’ll try to summarize it in a sentence: it’s a medieval political drama set in a fantasy world that includes underappreciated giant wolves, dragons, magic, zombies, shape-shifting ninja assassins, pirates, nonsensical plot lines, often terrible […]
Learning the Hard Way
When I was a kid, my teeth were pretty messed up, and my parents were aware. At the time I wasn’t particularly concerned, but my mother knew that without some corrective measures, high school was probably going to be a little rough. So she did what concerned parents do when their children’s teeth are pointing […]
On Resentments (or Why I Hate Tom Brady)
I’m going to break the cardinal rule of (semi) professional writing by invoking something you’ll see in high school essays year-round, because it hasn’t always been exactly clear to me what a resentment is. Ready? As defined, a resentment is “… a mixture of disappointment, anger and fear. It comprises the three basic emotions of […]
Big Ideas, Little Green Men
It’s common to have issues with the notion of a higher power. That can be difficult because it’s integral to most recovery programs. I’ve had issues with this myself; though I was exposed to several (probably too many) religions when I was younger, I’m definitely not a religious person. I simply wasn’t used to having […]
Became Willing
I had a pretty messed up upbringing. My family life as a child was filled with mental, verbal and physical abuse. My parents were divorced before I can even remember. My dad was present but absent at the same time. I went to three different elementary schools because we were constantly on the run from […]
The Best Person I Ever Knew, and How I Let Him Down
The worst thing I ever did – and that would be an absurdly long list, if I had to write it all down (yeah, I have, but I won’t share it here) – still haunts me. And I’ve got myself to blame for that. To a certain extent, alcohol was to blame, sure, but I […]
Espionage, Intrigue, and AA
I was kidnapped once. Perhaps “abducted” would be a better word, I was in my twenties. I was in Jamaica with my then-wife, and the airline had lost our luggage, so we ventured out of the hotel into a local market. Two large men with a car convinced my ex that they were, in fact, […]
The Unfounded Fear of Face to Face
There’s absolutely no way I’m going to tell you that online meetings and communities for support, discussion and enhancement of a recovery program aren’t an incredible resource. I’m thankful daily that this resource exists, and if participation is any factor in determining this site’s popularity, so are many other people. Online communities like this one […]