Nov 28, 2017 / By BRC Recovery / In Alumni Personal Stories, Blog, God, long-term sobriety Austin, Personal Stories, womens program

#GivingTuesday: Give Life

As the holiday season approaches, I’ve been thinking about the act of giving and receiving and what it means.  How one thoughtful gift can make an average day extraordinary.  How one donation—big or small—can spark a never-ending ripple effect in the lake of life that can change the course of someone’s life and the lives of countless others. Yet I quickly lose sight of the spirit of giving amid the twinkling lights, fancy ornaments, stockings, and presents.  I am completely swept away by the hustle and bustle the holiday ushers in. I forget that two years ago, with a broken […]

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 […]

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 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 […]

Jun 13, 2017 / By BRC Recovery / In Addiction, Alumni Personal Stories, Blog, God

Change

inevitable-aspects-of-life-change

one of the most inevitable aspects of life Change – one of the most inevitable aspects of life. We grow up, we make friends, we lose friends, we move, WE CHANGE. Despite the amount of “growing opportunities” that my Higher Power has presented in my path, it seems as though the process of walking through change remains just as uncomfortable! And as people say, we, as alcoholics and addicts, don’t accept change very well. The past few years of my life have been constant change. Surrendering to the fact that I would never be capable of “drinking like a lady” […]

May 23, 2017 / By BRC Recovery / In Blog, God, More News, Personal Stories

Righteousness is Real Scary

self-righteousness-is-real-scary

REAL SCARY I received a text from a friend recently that stated “it’s jealousy and spite masked as righteousness.” He was referring to a Facebook post we had both seen, and were disturbed by. His words struck me and I have mulled them over for some time. In this modern world of social media and advanced technology it is easy to open your phone or computer and “vent”, whether to a friend in private, or for the whole world (or at least your virtual friends) to see and digest. I admit I have been guilty, and on more than one […]

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 […]