Thanks Ivana. It’s been needed for years.

For many students, moving to Ann Arbor to begin their careers at the University of Michigan is a time of excitement, curiosity and maybe a little bit of fear. But for School of Social Work graduate student Ivana Grahovac, the emotions were different.

As Grahovac prepared to start her time at the University, she was also recovering from a five-year addiction to heroin. Though she had been clean and sober for four-and-a-half years in her hometown of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., she wasn’t sure she could recreate that security in Ann Arbor.

Grahovac said coming to Ann…

Wikipedia defines duct tape as a strong,  multi-purpose pressure-sensitive adhesive tape. In America, we define duct tape as the multi-purpose, quick fix-it for all circumstances that need an immediate, temporary fix. This can range from taping the spine of a book together or holding a headlight in place until a repair can be done. Duct tape is the all-American fixer-upper.

My father used duct tape in an attempt to fix me. When I used to drink and black out—which was more often than I care to recall—I wasn’t always the best driver. I drank, and I drove, and I bounced off things…

I have been struggling for a while in my personal relationship. This appears to be an area in my life and my recovery where I still have such challenges. I guess we can’t all be good at everything, right? I’m good at work, I am a trusted friend, good at recovery, I am a loving and caring daughter—but I somehow still make a lousy partner. Or is it more that I am still choosing the wrong partner?  Not that I am some innocent angel in relationships, but I have done my share of therapy and work in this area. My…

Sorry I have been gone from the blog scene for a while.  I am deep in the process of getting my second memoir, Leave the Light on: A Memoir of Recovery and Self-Discovery ready.  It will be released by Central Recovery Press in April.  Check out CRP, they are an amazing new publishing company out of Las Vegas, they also happen to have several great rehabilitation facilities in the country.  www.centralrecovery.com  I tend to get exhausted in the writing process and when I go to blog it’s like the pen’s run dry.  But I think my pen is now running over…

I got clean and sober at Penn State.  I went to college there in early recovery and stayed clean and sober for my entire four year stay there. Sure there were times when it was hard, but my recovery was what enabled me to go there in the first place and become the first person in my family ever to graduate from college.

 I didn’t have a boring experience, in fact, I had a blast at Penn State and I never picked up a drink or drug.

 It is possible to attend a university with a party reputation and stay clean and…

Traditionally my birthday and mother’s day have always fallen on the same weekend or at the least one weekend apart. When I was little some of my sweetest mother/daughter moments were of these times. My only truly fond memories of my mom and I are when I was very young, around age 5 or 6 when we would get all dressed up and go to this mother/daughter dinner thing with our church. I would drink Shirley Temple’s and in those moments felt connected to my mother. But the feeling didn’t last and our attendance at the dinner’s ended.

…

Dear  Friends,

Our Executive Director and founder of  The Second Road just received news last night that her father has metastatic cancer.  Melissa lost her sister last winter to breast cancer and, has since that time, legally adopted her sister’s 5 children, thereby making a major change in her life.

As I write this she is driving back home to be with her dad and her mom.

I ask special prayers, thoughts, and lots of light and serenity for Melissa as she faces yet another example of life on life’s terms.

Thank-you,

Till Next Time-

Your Humble Road Warrior

…

by William C. Moyers

Bill Blass knew a thing or two about clothes. So the legendary fashion designer had an easy answer to an age-old problem: “When in doubt, wear red.”

Now there’s evidence that what some kids are wearing these days could be red flags for parents and teachers.

Dear Mr. Moyers: For Christmas, my brother gave his niece, my daughter, a T-shirt with a big, bright Budweiser logo on the front. She loves it and wouldn’t take it off until the other day, when the school principal sent her home with a note informing us that she no longer will be…

Heroin has a very high potential for addiction, rarely are people able to experiment with the drug without developing a dependency. The painful withdrawal process from heroin keeps users in a desperate, destructive cycle.

A naturally occurring psychoactive compound has been scientifically identified as possessing anti-addictive properties. Ibogaine is used in Africa by the Bwiti tribe, for ritual and medicinal purposes. Research has proven that Ibogaine creates an immediate reduction in craving, even eliminating the potent withdrawal symptoms of heroin.

Have you ever heard of Ibogaine? Chances are that you haven’t.

Due to its controversial nature it is not used to treat opiate…

Here’s an abridged list of suggestions from Mark Kleiman. (Please take the time to read the whole thing here.)

1. Talk to Americans as if we are thinking adults.

2. You’ll be told that we have a national strategy resting on three legs: enforcement, prevention, and treatment. Don’t believe it. There is no coherent strategy.

3. “Drug czar” is a silly title. We’re not fighting a war, you don’t have czar-like powers, and the last actual czar who fought an actual war got clobbered. You’re stuck with the title. But don’t get sucked in to the rhetoric of “‘enemies”‘ and “‘victory.”‘ The drug…

The third step of Alcoholics Anonymous is as follows: Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. This can be a really tricky one for many new comers into the program of recovery as it requires us to do two things that are very difficult. Give up control over our lives and hand our will over and to believe in this whole God thing enough to trust this new found higher power with our will. I have a tendency to hang onto things like playful puppy would a…

To read Part 1, click here.

After my first experience with alcohol, I remember regretting many of my actions that day.  I was embarrassed I couldn’t handle myself like some of my friends.  During this time, I was also dealing with depression on and off (more on than off).  This brings me to my second drinking experience. 

I was sitting in my room with all my family in the house and remember feeling uneasy and panicky (is that even a word).  I decided I would go and sneak 2 beer from the fridge outside and take a bath.  The first beer tasted…

I am very excited to have the opportunity to share my journey with you all at The Second Road.  I never imagined my life would be like it is today, but I have come to realize everything happens for a reason.

I am a 33 year old recovering alcoholic.   The other day, I was trying to think of the very first time I ever drank and a memory played in my mind like a movie; every moment of every scene came back to me.  I had stuffed this deep inside my mind for so many years, but it finally hit me…

Over the weekend I attended an al anon meeting that was a bit out of my way, but I really wanted to try a new meeting and I am glad I did. I was able to see that I am one of the lucky ones. As sick as that sounds to me to verbalize, I know I am.

Before I go further let me give you a bit of background that I do not talk about much; While my husband was in the throes of his alcoholism aside from squandering all of his paycheck every week we went through a period…

I recently returned from a week long trip to Las Vegas.  Let me first state that in my humble opinion, a week is about four-five days too long to spend in Las Vegas for me.  Don’t get me wrong there is much to love about Vegas, the lights, the shopping, the energy etc.  However, after about the third day the lights became blinding, my wallet emptied and my energy was very low. I was there for a training and book signing; both which were amazing and totally worth the trip.  Being from the east coast, it took me a couple…

I was really angry at sobriety over the weekend. And while I was pissed at sobriety, I was even more upset with the disease of alcoholism.

In the wake of a breakup earlier in the fall, I have done my best to dive deeper into the program and understand how I could have stayed as long as I did in a romantic relationship that was essentially extremely self destructive. And I wondered how I could have denied so many of the warning signs I saw with this ex significant other.

 And after writing pages of inventory on the relationship, I…

One of the fundamental tools I learned early on in recovery was HONESTY. It is key to any healing, growth and recovery. As an active addict—I lied. I told white lies that I thought were harmless and I told major lies that I knew were destructive. I lied about little things and I lied about big things. I strung together a laundry line of lies that got so tangled by the end of it that I couldn’t tell fact from my created fiction. The lies were a part of keeping my addiction alive and kicking. The lies were built from…

I apologize for being out of the loop lately. I recently had surgery and have been down for a while. This brings me to my recent blog about medication in recovery. Such a fun and always heated topic in meetings. I recently went to my first meeting yesterday after being laid up for a while with my surgery. I brought up the topic and sure enough sparks flew! There is such an interesting and overwhelmingly diverse opinion in recovery about this topic. It is one of the reasons I love recovery—it is one of the places where vast opinions can…

Well, it has been a long time since I entered a blog. This month has been a little busy, with some unexpected happenings. But I guess that is life!

Amends story ……………

So, I missed my friend’s burial, arrived at the meal after the funeral to have his father tell me repeatedly how important Junior and my friendship had been to him. To say that I felt like the biggest jerk in the world would have been an understatement.

Going to see Junior in the cemetery for amends was one of the first things to pop on my eighth step list a few…

I was on the treadmill this morning running my morning mile when my parents woke up and came downstairs to join me. I felt good, having run a good mile in a decent time and decided to join them outside. They were in town for a night on their way home from Baltimore. I was doing my little dumbbell routine that I do every morning on the deck while they were sitting and pulling on their morning cigarette.

My father looks at me and said, “Ya know Jennifer, I don’t understand, you work out everyday and you don’t eat a…

I last wrote about the Montana Meth Project. While surfing the internet tonight I came across a great blog entry about it. Seems like Montana is actually Big Meth Country….

The blog tells the story of how a rich man made a wise investment! I think the government should direct it’s War on Drugs money into pro-active campaigns like this one, but bless the independent investor who took it on instead!

A snapshot of article below, but visit methman for the full picture.

“The day that meth walked into our house was the day our life took a spiral,” she says.

We also met Katrina,…

On this path to recovery, I’ve found myself a much more deliberate person. A good amount of people who’ve known me throughout the era’s have appreciated the change. I appreciate my own new found introspection as well, because my relationships are going a lot more smoothly. Not to mention how rewarding it is to sincerely care about other people, myself, and the fate of our world.

Not too long ago the Dalai Lama offered four days of teachings in Madison, WI. It felt like a blessing that my travels through Madison coincided with his visit-so I went. Of course I went.…

So I got rear ended this week. By a girl who said her breaks weren’t working right and this wasn’t the first time that happened. A couple months ago, a fellow drove into the side of my car at a busy intersection after explaining that he was trying to avoid a city utility truck parked on the sidewalk. At the beginning of the summer, my ex boss, who had me working ridiculously long hours for miniscule pay wrote me a letter explaining that I owed him a lot of money after I left the his business. I took the actions…

By Courtney H.

I have had this big fat resentment against a childhood friend of mine for not asking me to be in her wedding party this fall. Even though my decision to stop drinking seemed to signify a serious barrier to our friendship, I still thought our many childhood and teenage promises of having each other in our respective wedding parties would be met.

The barrier between us began during our college years. It seemed par for the course with living so far away from each other. When we worked in the same city the year I finished my graduate degree,…

by William C. Moyers

Sometimes the best advice comes when readers seek insight not in questions about themselves or their problems, but in querying me about my own experiences. This hit home in a recent letter from a 14-year-old boy.

Dear Mr. Moyers: I want to know what it was like to fall in the peer pressure of drugs and why you did. I know people always say to stay away from drugs, and I know to say no, but I want to know what it felt like to be asked. Were you nervous, anxious and scared? Being drug-free is very important…

by Courtney H.

I applied for two professional positions this week. One would involve working in public relations for the University of Virginia. The other is training potential journalists for seven months in Freetown, Sierra Leone. I think I could live with securing either or neither of those jobs. Truth be told, the idea of living in Africa scares me. But I have always longed for that experience. That desire has grown over the past five years as I have watched several of my friends and younger sister travel to the continent to work in professional capacities while helping various citizens…

Angela, who has worked on this site, sent this to me this week-end. Lest we ever forget….

from The Richmond Times Dispatch

“A woman was killed and a man was hurt yesterday in a single-car crash on state Route 288 in Chesterfield County.

Virginia State Police trooper M.S. Meyer said Megan R. Ford, 30, of the 6100 block of Watchhaven Circle in Chesterfield County was flown by helicopter to VCU Medical Center, where she died shortly after the 12:40 a.m. crash.

Ford’s passenger and husband, Jon G. Brown, 29, was taken by ambulance to VCU, where he was being treated for injuries that were…

by Greg W.

July 15^th

It happens to me every year. I am not much of a morning person but there is that one morning that I wake up and immediately smile. Today was that day and I couldn’t place it. Was it watching Josh Hamilton (an inspiring recovering addict) hit 28 homers in a single round of the home-run derby at Yankee Stadium the night before? Was it the summertime? Then it hit me…it was July 15^th, the day that has surpassed all other important days in my life. It is the day that everything changed. I finally woke up on…

I was a little paranoid the first time I saw one of these ads.

It was twilight and I was scootin’ along a deserted road. I hadn’t seen anyone in hours. Suddenly I wondered, “are there fanatical meth heads running amuck?”

I’m an East Coaster.

I’ve run in circles where I see that meth is a huge problem and that it’s even a choice drug by the upper eschelon circles.

On the East Coast, we don’t have these drug campaigns; these brutal, honest, and sometimes grotesque images that seem to shout, “stop. stop now. you’re being tragic.”

Perhaps out West the problem is bigger, but…