PAL Blog
A Parent’s Story
Articles by Parents Like You
From Chaos to Hope: Finding Freedom Through Letting Go Of Control
We are a blended family with four children along with eight grandkids and two great-grandkids. Our daughter Emily was an athlete growing up and an overachiever in school—always going above and beyond what was required. Around age sixteen, she began smoking...
When Love Means Doing Things Differently
When Love Means Doing Things Differently I am the parent of four children and two grandchildren. My daughter, Rita, was adopted from another country as an infant. At the age of fifteen, she became pregnant and made the loving decision to place her child up for...
What I Had to Unlearn to Truly Love My Son
I am a mother of two sons and one daughter, and a grandmother to a grandson and granddaughter. I want to share the story of my son, Chance. Chance had a normal childhood. He was active, fun, and kind—but also a bit of a daredevil. He liked to push boundaries, bend...
The View from Recovery
Articles by People in Recovery
Freedom Isn’t Free
Every July, we celebrate freedom. But somewhere along the way, I realized something about recovery: Freedom isn’t free. In fact, recovery has cost me a great deal. It cost me my way of doing things. I had to stop being the exception. Stop believing I was somehow...
Trusted With More
June in Phoenix has a way of reminding me. The heat doesn’t ask permission before it arrives. It settles over everything - sidewalks, steering wheels, skin, breath. There is a heaviness to it that only people who have lived through an Arizona summer truly understand....
Only a Mother’s Love
Mother’s Day used to be complicated for me. Not because I didn’t believe in it… but because I didn’t know where I fit in it. There was a time in my life when I wasn’t showing up as the kind of daughter any mother would feel celebrated by. I was the one creating chaos....
From Counselors
Articles by PAL and Partner Counselors
Letting Go of Control Is Not Giving Up—It’s Choosing Freedom
Adapted from The Four Seasons of Recovery By Michael Speakman (founder of PAL) For many parents walking alongside an addicted loved one, a persistent question surfaces again and again: if I let go, am I giving up on my child? It’s an honest and painful question,...
When Helping Becomes Hurting: Rethinking Our Role as Parents of Adult Children
Adapted from The Four Seasons of Recovery By Michael Speakman (founder of PAL) As parents, helping comes naturally. It’s wired into us. When our children struggle—especially with substance use—we often do everything we can to protect, guide, and support them. But...
Loving Your Adult Child Without Losing Yourself
Reflections for Parents — Especially Moms — from a Counselor’s PerspectiveAdapted from The Four Seasons of Recovery, by Michael Speakman, LISAC (PAL Founder) One of the hardest truths parents must face is this: love alone is not always enough to change addiction — and...
