April 10, 2008
Today. 6 Months. Tomorrow. The World!
Today I celebrate 6 months of sobriety. A life without alcohol was something I could barely comprehend only 1/2 year ago. I wasn’t holding a brown bag on the street corner (yet), but I was thinking about those glasses of wine earlier and earlier each day and they, not life, were becoming my reason for getting up in the morning.
What started as a muse to greater regenerating clever blather became a dependence. The funny tightwalk between levity and release gave over to a fall through a canyon of doom. There were hostages and legions of hurt people. The first were last and the last were made first.
I am so much less now than I was then, both in net worth and employment and pretty clothes and shoes… but again so much more. More available, more alive, happier than I can remember.
If you ever wonder whether your drinks or drugs or habits are a dependence rather than a treat, try giving them up for awhile and see what opens for you.
And if you ever wonder what becomes of a person who loses something in order to gain something else, you can come visit me. I’ll welcome you here and gladly show you around.
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Read this beautiful thing and thank god, or God, or goddess that there is such a lovely person on this planet…
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I’m so proud of you, Honey. So proud!
April 10th, 2008 at 12:21 pmfollowed the link back from Toddler Planet, and want to say Congratulations. I’m sure it’s not been an easy 6 months. Well done for every day of it!
April 10th, 2008 at 1:58 pmCongratulations to you. I come from a family with alcoholism, as well as friends I’ve seen spiral down and me not be able to help. So…. never give up the fight!
April 10th, 2008 at 2:02 pmI’m with Brian, honey. I’m proud too.
XO,
April 10th, 2008 at 3:16 pmIvy
I’m lurker here, but a fan of yours (and a mutual friend of dear Miss Ivy Brown), and I want to offer my congratulations and kudos on the work you’ve done in your first six months. I hope each day gets easier and better.
April 10th, 2008 at 6:45 pmbut are you really free of addiction redsy? what about all those milk duds stashed under the bed?
April 10th, 2008 at 7:13 pmI couldn’t be happier or sadder all at once. I’m so proud of what you’ve accomplished and I’m so sad about Susan. You are both such fighters in your own way and that makes me love you both.
April 10th, 2008 at 10:42 pmSix months, WOOT! I knew you could do it. You are awesome.
April 11th, 2008 at 10:02 am[...] Last week, Strollerderby’s Redsy explored her personal growth after six months of sobriety. [...]
April 15th, 2008 at 3:38 pmYou said it so well.
I too am a person who has lost something to gain something else.
Congratulations my friend. I am so proud of you.
April 16th, 2008 at 3:36 pmCongats to you. Not an easy feat. Great job!
April 18th, 2008 at 11:09 am[...] The thing about recovery is that we’re all in it. Recovering from something. Bad childhoods, bad clams, bad breakups, bad timing. But we’re also recovering from self delusion. When we get lost in the scary woods of our own minds, we make bizarre claims about what we need and where we’re going (”Honestly, this job is great for me! Yes, it’s in the middle of Antarctica and it’s minimum wage, but they give you your own winter jacket!”). Whether you’re talking to an imaginary executioner or judge, this self-justification can create a whole mess of wrong choices. [...]
April 21st, 2008 at 12:04 pmHello,
April 24th, 2008 at 5:02 pmYour blog caught my eye, as we are looking for a writer for a book about this very topic. I would love to have a conversation with you about this possibility.
Best-
Amber (Conari Press)
Congratulations on your 6 months I just found your site and it is like reading my own story. I’ll have 7 months tomorrow, and like you, I have 6 year old twin daughters. Sometimes I call them Exhibit A. I look forward to reading more of your journey.
April 24th, 2008 at 9:59 pmJust read this post today, and wanted to add my congrats!
April 30th, 2008 at 3:45 am[...] January, I’ve not worked in an office. I’ve been writing and getting out to meetings, but mostly I’m home with the kids. We don’t do crafts or bake pies, but we do hang [...]
June 25th, 2008 at 12:47 pmSix months today for me. My life has opened up as you have described….much less affluent in the money and material world, so much richer in every other aspect. I’ve dealt with heartbreak, the unexpected death of a beloved brother, and personal success all without a drink. I never knew it was possible. Thanks for putting this out into the world….what I needed to read today
.
July 2nd, 2008 at 7:42 pm