My body is the vehicle that carries my recovery, my voice, my relationships, and my purpose. And right now — less than two weeks into 2026 — that vehicle is running on empty. I’ve been up against a deadline, finishing my book proposal, mapping out a year’s worth of workshops and speaking engagements. Add in daily life — house projects, errands, and yes, rearranging the living room furniture (because apparently I like to add unnecessary sofa-lifting to an already full plate) — and no surprise:...

For most of my life, the turn of the year felt like judgment day. Another calendar, same pain. Same anxiety. Same carousel of thoughts I couldn’t get off. This year feels different. There’s still uncertainty. There are still unknowns. But under all of it, there’s something I’ve never had before: peace. A quiet sense that I’m no longer trapped inside myself. A few nights ago, before a meeting, I sat down with my sponsor — my longtime recovery mentor — to talk through what we call a Fourth...

What the Holidays Really Stir Up When recovery meets the quiet return of old escape thoughts When the Thought Came Out of Nowhere The season whispers before you notice A couple of months ago, I told Barry I wanted to “get out of Dodge” for a week sometime during the holidays — anytime from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Eve. That may not sound alarming on the surface. Plenty of people want to escape the holidays. But what caught my attention was how suddenly the thought appeared — and how...