Making December a Time of Reflection and Retreat

When my husband showed me the email from Zen Habits in his inbox titled, “The Practice of Using December for Retreat, Reflection, & Letting Go”…I was like I LOVE THIS IDEA!!! SEND IT TO ME!! What struck me most about this article was how it spoke to the exact opposite of the way most of…

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To My Friends and Family, What I Wish You Knew…

This blog post was submitted from a friend working SAL recovery. Thanks to her for putting her heart into this post and being a voice for so many women. Please offer your comments and gratitude for her share as well. Dear friends, family, parents, church leaders, children, siblings, co-workers, neighbors, acquaintances and anyone else in…

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Step 1, Surrender, and Falling Leaves

Yesterday in my SAL 12-Step meeting we studied Step 1. We discussed the pain and fear that we had each experienced as we reached the point of unmanageability in our lives. We talked about the loss we felt when we seemed to lose everything we had built our lives on. This discussion felt particularly poignant…

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Additional Q&A Questions Answered from our 2019 Conference

If you were able to attend or purchase the 2019 S.A. Lifeline Conference on September 21st, 2019, you will remember our excellent Q&A panel. With the help of our efficient moderator, we were able to get through an unprecedented number of questions with our excellent panel. However, several questions were left unanswered. We want to…

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The Lion King and Addiction Recovery

This weekend I went to the Lion King with my family. It was a familiar story–almost the exact same script as the original animated film from Disney–but the incredibly realistic images kept my attention fresh. As always, recovery colored my experience as I watched the film. Most of us are well-acquainted with the story of…

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Taking Surrender to a Deeper Level

Those who have been working SAL recovery for awhile understand that recovery is a marathon, not a sprint. When I first came to SAL, it seemed strange to me was that people were still attending meetings even years after “rock-bottom”–long after finding sobriety or stability from trauma reactions. In other recovery groups I had attended,…

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SAL Women’s Retreat–A Participant Shares

We are so grateful for the opportunity to rub shoulders with 25 amazing women who came to this year’s SAL Women’s Retreat. Special thanks to Katelyn, for offering her strength, hope, and experience in this post. Please leave your questions and comments about the Retreat on this post! The ten-hour journey to the retreat this…

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SAL Recovery Makes You A Better Mom

Last week I had the amazing opportunity to attend the S.A.Lifeline Women’s Retreat. It was such a gift to be able to rub shoulders with 30 amazing women–each one of us courageously facing our difficulties with courage, a willing heart, and a growing number of tools. As I returned home and Mother’s Day was quickly…

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Why You’re Not Crazy for Being Crazy

This week I have been reading Bessel Van Der Kolk’s bestselling book: The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. Bessel Van Der Kolk is a brilliant scientist. He has paramount understanding of brain function and physiology and he has devoted his career to studying trauma. While his work…

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