I am a proud survivor of cancer, addiction, abuse, and the grip of my mother. — Hi Medium friends!! I’m Michele. Yes, I am sober, plant-based, and addicted to yoga. I need my namaste every day or I feel like a sloth. So here goes… I was born into a chaotic, abusive, alcoholic home. …

This is not just another 2020 drinking story — My name is Michele. I’m a trauma and abuse survivor, cancer survivor, and addiction survivor. I’ve been through the wringer but I’m humble as hell. Ok, I’m done tooting my horn. I’ll briefly explain my past before I get into the meat and potatoes. You can read about my trauma…

With so much life to live, hers was cut too short — All week, I’ve been trying to read and write but the words don’t really come out. My heart has been heavy thinking about a friend and fellow dancer of my daughters. This past weekend, as I wrote about, she had a severe allergic reaction that ceased her breathing for too…

Sobriety has taught me to sit with myself — Life of the party, that was me. Loud, obnoxious, talkative extrovert. Everyone told me that I was so easy and fun to be around. It was easy meeting new people. I wasn’t awkward. But, turns out I was never really an extrovert like everyone thought I was. As a young…

Local tragedies rock my world — Some heavy news is weighing on my heart. After reading this poem from Benighted, I felt the pull to write about it. Tonight A poemmedium.com Benighted’s poem doesn’t necessarily describe what I am feeling but it was that last line that stood out to me. I gently remind you that all we have…

this is not what I had in mind — I’m so emotional lately. Seriously, everything is bothering me more than usual. I’m tired, and moody, and my head and body are aching. This is not usual, something weird is going on. Then, it started happening. Waking up in the middle of the night, drenched. Sorry men, I know this…

While thinking of our next tropical vacation — I’ve been able to go on some great vacations in my life, including the tropical island of Maui. Because our daughters are always so busy with dance and school, I made it a point to schedule at least one but usually two vacations a year. As I am sitting here…

No amount of alcohol is safe, healthy, or good for your heart. — Canada’s drinking guidelines have been all over the news lately. In case you have missed it, the difference between the old and new guidelines is striking. The guidelines went from 2 drinks per day to 2 drinks per week. That’s a huge difference. Why are they recommending drinking much less? …

I wonder how many times federal officers have heard this excuse — In all truth, the drugs weren’t mine this time. Shocking, I know. An Untamed Savage in Mexico — My Wildest Travel Story Locked Up Abroad was knocking at my motel door.medium.com The drugs were mine in this story and somehow we managed to escape Mexican jail. I can’t imagine myself surviving inside but it probably would have scared me straight.