STABILITY IN 2017

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It seems like the appropriate time to talk about stability.

For this survivor of family addiction and trauma, having it meant everything.

How did I reach it? How do I have it all these years later when the walls seem to shake around me?

Here is one tip I’ve found invaluable, even when all I wanted was to shut down:

Keep reaching out!

All too often I let relationships come and go in my life, from family to friends. Reaching back to them, taking the ...

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MOMS, FRIENDS, PARTNERS, PARENTS, NEW ADULTS

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MOTHERS, FATHERS, SIBLINGS, FRIENDS, LOVERS, PARTNERS –

Weight and body issues aren’t what they seem. For children of dysfunctional families, they mean comfort and escape. They are the friends who never disappointed me.

During the nights of my father’s rage, even in the terror, a sense of calm filled me up because I knew Mom, a co-dependent within her husband’s alcoholic addiction, would reward me with presents the next day. It was often a movie with popcorn and candy, or ...

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REMEMBERING GUILT, TRYING TO BECOME INDEPENDENT

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THREE GUILTY FEELINGS WHEN TRYING TO BECOME INDEPENDENT

There are several memories that flash through my head when I remember moments that I disappointed my family. I don’t know why I hold onto them so tightly. Are these the things that keep us wound up?

It’s harder to forgive myself than it is to forgive others.

  • My grandmother
  • My father
  • My son

My grandmother was dying. I didn’t know it, but she was. Her last few months of life were spent at my parents’ house. She ...

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HOW I STAYED DETACHED FROM MY FAMILY’S ADDICTION

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HOW I STAYED DETACHED FROM DAD’S ALCOHOLISM

 

What are the adventures we create to enter an alternate world of joy, love, and a healthy family when we are only children?

For me, it was making friends, real and imaginary.

  • Real friends
  • Food
  • Things to do at school
  • Clubs
  • Volunteering
  • My sister

My neighbor was my best friend. I hopped the fence to play at her house any time I could. She was real. Her parents knew about my dad, but never talked about it. They saw him passed out ...

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POETRY IN A NOVEL

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Are any of you like me when you’re writing — sometimes you just want to burst out in a poem?

I solved that urge and have begun each novel with a little bit of quick poetry. I’ve thought about having a character or two write a little bit inside the story as well, but for now, I’ll hang back.

How do you feel when you read a poem at the start?  Does it turn you off? Do you like it? Or do ...

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