The Phoenix · Threshold to 2022 “Thresholds are dangerous places, neither here nor there, and walking across one is like stepping off the edge of a cliff in the naïve faith that you'll sprout wings halfway down. You can't hesitate, or doubt. You can't fear the in-between.” — Alix E. Harrow We are once again| The Phoenix Spirit
“If there is hope in the future, there is literally power in the present.” Zig Ziglar Given the enormity of 2020, you can be forgiven, in part, for thinking that there is little hope left for the future. Millions of people lost their lives in 2020. The pandemic continues to rage. Black and minority voices| The Phoenix Spirit
“Too bad you didn’t get treatment for alcoholism earlier in your life,” said a young man in the discussion group after hearing my addiction story. “Let’s face it,” he continued, “your best years are behind you.” A big guy with a voice that didn’t match his 6’1”, nearly 300-pound frame, this opiate addict had a| The Phoenix Spirit
Living with an emotionally distant, rageful father left Deanna Broaddus hungry for attention and solace. Men – lots of men – were her first recourse, and then alcohol and drugs. Except for a suicide attempt at age 18, Broaddus did well, working and pursuing a master’s degree so that she could follow her passion to| The Phoenix Spirit
It’s hard to imagine myself drinking or using again. It’s been so long since the last time I got drunk or high that it seems like an alternate life. The old me is a far away, distant memory. No more hangover headaches punishing me for the previous night. That past life of alcohol and drugs| The Phoenix Spirit
Jeff Powell, better known as Jay Pee, came from the hellish side of Chicago, broken. In his first 30 years, he did it all – drug dealing, gangs, crime, jail. “It was pretty much like a war zone out there,” he says. Yet the streets were the only place where Jay Pee felt he could| The Phoenix Spirit