PAL Blog
A Parent’s Story
Articles by Parents Like You
Finding the support I need
I am the mother of two grown children, a girl, and a boy. I have one grandson and two granddaughters. My husband and I have been married for 40 years. My children were involved in several sports and activities, and we were very involved in...
Not our family
My husband and I have a son and a daughter. Their childhood was wonderful for all of us, as we spent weekends in the summers at the lakes and winters at the sand dunes. Our children were the ones whose others’ parents always said, “Man,...
Understanding their perspective
We are a blended family – my children became the children of my spouse as I had both children and grandchildren prior to our marriage. My son was such a beautiful child. He was always happy and inquisitive. He was very interested in...
The View from Recovery
Articles by People in Recovery
Vignettes – Part 4
June 2013 - 12th St & Maryland It’s 2:00 a.m. I’m crouched under the awning of a neighborhood bar’s entryway and it’s pouring. Sheets of rain splatter against the asphalt, coating my face with a cold mist but I don’t notice because I’m high, again....
Vignettes – Part 3
2013 Bruised, broken, emaciated, exhausted, and sick. I’m using meth and heroin in a hotel room in Glendale. I’ve been up for three days; when I look at the carpeted floors, they vividly appear to be alive with crawling bugs. I close my eyes and try to...
Vignettes – Part 2
Summer. 2011. It’s 110 degrees outside. The sun bakes the concrete courtyard where I sit, the radiation of unbearable warmth rising. I smoke cigarettes with my back leaned up against the wall as I sit on the ground in a spot of shade near the stairway. I don’t...
From Counselors
Articles by PAL and Partner Counselors
Responsibility: Put Down the Microscope and Pick Up the Mirror
When I started PAL back in 2006, my motivation was to help parents. I was working in a treatment center, and I was seeing a trend of more and more young people coming into treatment and honestly their parents were a mess. That...
Mike Speakman, the co-author of my journey
2011 I’m sitting on the front patio of Calvary. It’s 7 a.m. My soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend dropped me off unceremoniously. There’s a bubbling fountain in the middle of the area; birds land on the top, shaking their feathers free from moisture as they...
The importance of readiness
“Most people will not participate in their own rescue, because it will require hard work” - Unknown I want to share a thought about a subject that is controversial. This is just my belief, so please take it as “theory.” It’s about a...
