About

Today life is good…. very good!    But it wasn’t always this way.

Things started out for me in a severely dysfunctional household, I grew up with an abusive, alcoholic father and a frightened, enabling mother.  With no healthy communication or effective parenting, I turned to substance use to cope with the traumatic home environment.  I began smoking cigarettes at age 10, using alcohol at age 12, smoking marijuana and taking hard liquor to school at age 13. By age 18 I received my first DUI, and at age 47 I received my seventh DUI. The years in between my struggles with addiction included many street drugs, pharmaceuticals, food, and co-dependency. Despite all of this, I outwardly achieved some level of success. As a “functioning alcoholic,” I maintained a steady career in the grocery business, owned a new home and new cars, and seemed to have it all, including a family with two amazing children. Yet internally, I was gripped by depression, anxiety, crippling self-doubt, and experienced  thousands of suicidal thoughts. I had never felt comfortable in my own skin. The substance use and other addictive behaviors became my way of coping with the many underlying issues. This way of being had a huge cost attached, including two marriages that ended in divorce.

The turning point came three days after receiving the seventh DUI. On June 21, 2011, the course of my life changed. I made the decision to choose a different path, and that’s when the hard but rewarding work of healing began. Self-acceptance slowly began to weave its way into my life. Through time, reflection, study, and the guidance of wonderful teachers, I broke free from the self-destructive thought patterns and addictive behaviors that had shaped my life experience up to that point.

Now, 13 years alcohol and cannabis free, I’m committed to practices that create inner peace, promote balance, and support a healthy lifestyle. I eat well, exercise both my body and mind, and I truly feel like I’m getting healthier as I age!