In January 2014, my son, David, 39, passed away following a 15-year addiction to heroin. We started out as an average suburban family: Father, mother, David, and Bill, an older brother. David’s father was a police officer, and I worked part-time as a secretary at the boys’ elementary school. Our lives centered on our community| The Phoenix Spirit
In 2008, an estimated 20.1 million Americans aged 12 or older used illicit drugs within a month prior to a survey done by The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMSHA). This estimate represents 8 percent of that population. During that same time an estimated 22.2 million persons (8.9 percent of the population aged 12| The Phoenix Spirit
Smell is the strongest of our human senses. That makes it both a gift and a curse. If you want to inhale the beautiful, soft scent of the newest rose in your garden, it’s a gift; but if you’re passing the sewage treatment center, well, think again! In the book, Perfume: The Story of a| The Phoenix Spirit
There are many aspects that can be helpful in moving us from addictive thinking and behavior to recovery. In this article, I would like to focus on two aspects that have become important in my recovery journey as well as in those of a number of people I know. They are: making choices and being| The Phoenix Spirit
I’m a person in long-term recovery from addiction. What that means to me, is that I haven’t picked up an alcoholic drink or drug since October 1981. I know to some of you that seems like eons. But to me, it still feels like yesterday. The pain of the end of my use was so| The Phoenix Spirit
My life was ruining my life. The things I once loved had begun to consume all my time, all my relationships and all of me. From an outsider’s perspective, I looked as though I was at the peak of my profession. I’d traveled, met some amazing culinarians both here and abroad, been in magazines and| The Phoenix Spirit
