PAL Blog
A Parent’s Story
Articles by Parents Like You
How Faith and Education Helped Me Find Purpose and Joy Again
I am the mother of two grown children, a daughter and a son. I have one grandson and two granddaughters. My husband and I have been married for 40 years. Growing up, my children were involved in several sports and activities, and we were very involved in our...
Breathing Again : Reclaiming Life and Joy Despite Uncertainty
I am free today of the trauma I carried far too long. I am a parent of an adult son who has substance use disorder. My son is 39 years old and has been a polysubstance abuser for 25 years. Much of that time he has been unhoused. Shane has had type 1 diabetes since...
Transforming Heartache into Hope
I’m a single mom and grandma. I have 2 beautiful daughters and a granddaughter. My daughter who struggled with alcohol was so smart, a straight A student and super athletic. She did everything: soccer, volleyball, gymnastics, Taekwondo, track, AND basketball. ...
The View from Recovery
Articles by People in Recovery
When Loneliness Becomes Strength How a Broken Christmas Sparked My Renewal
“These are the only genuine ideas; the ideas of the shipwrecked. All the rest is rhetoric, posturing, farce.” Jose Ortega y Gasset. I’ve spent holidays in detoxes. I’ve spent them in hospitals. I’ve spent them alone. I’ve spent them in cynicism and...
Honoring Friendships: The Simple Smiles That Spark Change
In 2014, I went to treatment in Prescott, AZ. After a long string of failed attempts at getting clean, it felt like my last hope, and for whatever reason, I felt a spark of inspiration when this opportunity presented itself to me. Removing myself from my...
Changing Others
Ask your self I learned several things reading Stage II Recovery by Ernie Larson. This book was written for those in recovery as they take the next steps to really change their lives. However, I have found it to be very helpful to parents and others who...
From Counselors
Articles by PAL and Partner Counselors
California Sober
There are some concepts in the field of addiction and recovery that have become outdated with time. For example, the consensus decades ago was that the only true path to recovery from addiction were 12-Step fellowships (like Alcoholics Anonymous). We now know that...
Parents Can Have An Impact
Generally, we publish blogs that focus on parents with adult children that are suffering from addiction. This month’s article focuses on teens and how substance abuse gets started and what you can do. We appreciated the message and the resource, and we hope it will...
Families and Addiction, a podcast
Dr. Aaron Weiner, licensed clinical psychologist, recently sat down to do a podcast with Dr. Brian Licuanan, a friend and colleague to discuss families and addiction. Dr. Licuanan is an author, speaker, and board-certified psychologist practicing in...
