Oct 3, 2017 / By BRC Recovery / In Alcoholism, Blog, Family, God, womens program

Delight

Recently, BRC was asked by our good friend Ken Seeley of Intervention 911, and the producers of The Doctors TV Show to accept a patient struggling with heroin addiction for treatment. I flew to LA to meet with Ken, the family of the patient, and for the taping of the episode. What an exhilarating, whirlwind experience! Returning home, pretty tired, I stood impatiently at the airport baggage carousel waiting for my luggage to appear. All the while, texting my husband and slightly irritated about the delay – I was tired and past ready to be home! At the end of […]

Sep 12, 2017 / By BRC Recovery / In Addiction, Alumni Personal Stories, Blog, Drugs, Family, Heroin, More News

My Daughter Showed Me What It Means To Be Humble

What a journey we have taken over the past 7 years.  My firstborn daughter celebrated her 4th year of sobriety last April.  I can still remember the shock and total disbelief I felt when I was finally able to admit to myself that she was addicted to heroin.  I did not know what this looked like and worse I was in total denial for a long time.  At least I was.  My wife told me time and time again that something was wrong but I refused to see it, always thinking she was getting better and that she no longer […]

Jul 4, 2017 / By BRC Recovery / In Addiction, Alumni Personal Stories, Blog, drug addiction, Family, God, mens program

Anything is Possible

anything-is-possible

BRC Recovery I had a dream once of going to Penn State and getting a Ph.D. Instead, I ended up at the State Pen getting a GED. After dropping out of high school in the 12th grade, because I thought I knew it all, I started to follow my feet wherever my self-will led me. At this time in my life, drugs and alcohol played an important role, and it seemed the world was out to get me. My family was always there to offer support and advice, and I would nod my head in agreement but I never followed […]

Jun 27, 2017 / By BRC Recovery / In Blog, Family, Recovery

Beautiful Bumpy Roads

bad-roads-bring-good-people

BRC Recovery Recently, my family and I went on vacation to Nosara, Costa Rica. What a glorious week of sun and fun mixed with the rains and mud of the “green season”. Swimming, surfing, ATV tour, horseback riding, and lots of good food and fellowship with our family and the local recovery community all made for a wondrously eventful and action packed week. On our last morning there, on the way to the airport, we decided to have a final breakfast at a beautiful, boutique hotel called La Garta Lodge. Outside the restaurant was a sign that read, “Bad roads […]

Jun 20, 2017 / By BRC Recovery / In Alcoholism, Blog, Family, God

What Good Are Those Slogans, Anyway? (Part 4)

what-good-are-those-slogans-anyway

If you’ve spent any time around Al-Anon, Alcoholics Anonymous, or other recovery-oriented groups, you’ve heard at least a few slogans and acronyms. Most of them seem to fall into one of three categories, and they include our relationship with: Our addicted loved one. Ourselves. Our Higher Power. This month, we’ll look at a few of my favorites that can help us stop living in fear and resentment and change our lives for the better.  FEAR: Forgetting Everything is All Right. The first time I heard this spoken was by Al-Anon speaker, Ellen Cassidy, she said she talked to her sponsor […]

May 9, 2017 / By BRC Recovery / In Addiction, Blog, Family, God, Recovery

What Good Are Those Slogans, Anyway? (Part 3)

trust-the-process

If you’ve spent any time around Al-Anon, Alcoholics Anonymous, or other recovery-oriented groups, you’ve heard at least a few slogans and acronyms. Most of them seem to fall into one of three categories, and they include our relationship with: Our addicted loved one. Ourselves. Our Higher Power. This month, we’ll look at a few of my favorites that can help us accept events as they occur and allow natural consequences to take their course. Trust the process. Trusting the process can be particularly difficult when your addicted loved one enters a rehabilitation facility. Fear of the future can feel overwhelming. […]

Apr 18, 2017 / By BRC Recovery / In Blog, Family, God

For the Family: Gratitude is an Action Word

The attitude of gratitude How many times have we heard the phrase, “The attitude of gratitude”? The word gratitude is thrown around so often that it sometimes loses its luster to the untrained eye. If we stopped to make a list of all the areas of our life that we have been blessed it would be easy to feel grateful for a moment. But what would it look like if gratitude were an action word? If we simply decided to live out our gratitude rather than just post it with a cute picture on social media. It would affect us […]

Apr 4, 2017 / By BRC Recovery / In Addiction, Blog, Family, More News, Personal Stories

What Good Are Those Slogans, Anyway? (Part 2)

If you’ve spent any time around Al-Anon, Alcoholics Anonymous, or other recovery-oriented groups, you’ve heard at least a few slogans and acronyms. Most of them seem to fall into one of three categories, and they include our relationship with: Our addicted loved one. Ourselves. Our Higher Power. This month, we’ll look at a few of my favorites that can help us handle seemingly overwhelming circumstances. Is everything okay right now? I woke up night after night and lay sleepless, worrying about my alcoholic son, wondering if he was okay. I often texted him just to see if he would respond. […]