PAL Blog
A Parent’s Story
Articles by Parents Like You
I can’t change my daughter
Our family would be considered a typical family. My husband and I have been married for 31 years, we have a 29-year-old son who’s married with children and a 23-year-old daughter. Our daughter was always the social butterfly. She included the kids who were not...
There is always hope!
After my son graduated from college, he lived on his own and picked up a few jobs before he started working for a bank - he was in his mid-20’s. He was doing very well at the bank and was working in the mortgage department. He advanced up through the department and...
I had to learn to accept the hard truths
When my son, Trevor, was 24, I had to come out of denial and admit he had an addiction. Trevor is my son with my first husband, Michael. Michael and I both struggled with drugs and alcohol. You may be thinking “No wonder he’s an addict.” Truth be told, with my...
The View from Recovery
Articles by People in Recovery
The life preserver was gone
To this day, I vividly remember the calamity that was my life on a daily basis for so many years. The endless attempts to stay intoxicated – regardless of personal cost or consequence. Oblivious to the fact that the choices I made in these narcotic periods of haze...
Get comfortable with being uncomfortable
“I shall be telling this with a sigh. Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” - Robert Frost I recently left a job I had held for seven years of my adult life....
Memories can be helpful…provide perspective…hope
For many years I thought about giving up. Throwing in the towel. Letting go of life itself. And to a certain degree, that’s what I did. Drug addiction, in all its forms, is like a version of suicide via layaway plan; roll the dice everyday wagering your own...
From Counselors
Articles by PAL and Partner Counselors
Detaching with love
If you spend any time around addiction recovery circles you are bound to hear a lot of recovery lingo. Mottos, sayings, and acronyms abound - and for good reason. These sayings are tremendously wise and pack helpful tools and perspectives into short memorable...
Intervention
What is an intervention and how do we know if we need one? First, let’s define it. An intervention according to Merriam Webster is: the act of interfering with the outcome or course especially of a condition or process (as to prevent harm or improve functioning). So,...
One Day at a Time
An essential tool for recovery. Navigating addiction in the family is typically overwhelming on its own, bringing the past or future into it creates even more anxiety and tension and complicates an already difficult situation. It is enough to have to deal with today...
