Let's SUMMER SOBER

and help guide others along a recovery journey

The writer in me loves that the word summer can be a verb.

Summer is a time that is golden and warm, with marigolds adorning its edges. The birds come back and sing. The bugs come out and dance by the back porch light. You water the garden and make rainbows.

Kids ride bikes around the block and remind us of the days when that was all that was needed. Exploration on two wheels, softball games, and concession stands with popcorn and freezer pops.

Photo by Daniel Way on Unsplash

Summer brings with it so many memories and for some of us, weight.

How do you feel as summer is approaching?

It can be a time when triggers are as plentiful as ice cream cones, fireworks, bonfires, mosquitos, and mojitos. If you are like me, perhaps these triggers have lessened over time. Maybe you aren’t moved in the same way to recollections of dazed and confused afternoons when you hear Sublime’s cover of Summertime. Or perhaps, you are feeling the triggers deeply right now.

I’ve been there.

While this musical reference may date me (yes, I’m a geriatric millennial and proud of every gray hair that survived the album The Chronic by Dr. Dre), the truth is that summer does get easier in recovery. Today, I don’t associate getting high with a sunny day…or rainy day… or any day for that matter.

Today, summer means planting flowers and walks in the woods and swimming pools and my children’s wiggly smiles after we stop at our favorite local ice cream parlor. 

Today, summer is a time to enjoy friends and family and to make new memories. It’s also a time to be grateful for the old memories, my old life, that led me here.

If you are not here, friend, if you are not past the days of being really triggered by anything that has to do with summer – or any season for that matter – there is good news. There are evidence-based things that we can do that will help us stay on the sober track this summer. There is also power in the community and in the hope that can move us along our paths to healing and wholeness.

Photo by Angelo Pantazis on Unsplash

I wish I could create the perfect how-to guide that will help you begin the road to recovery for good, stop using substances (if that’s your goal), discover new recovery pathways, and experience healing and freedom like you never have before.

Be careful of the “over-promise,” the editor in me whispers.

This is my wish and hope, yet I know that fallible, sober folks like myself cannot create manuals that will 100% give us a roadmap to get there. Plus, our journeys are just that: individualized.

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to recovery. I’ve experienced this, too, over the years, my recovery pathways changing like the seasons (similar to my hair color, now blonde fighting back the gray).

I say this, yet I am motivated to continue showing up, sharing resources, and building community at different points throughout the year because this is what motivated me at multiple points along my journey. And still does today.

Will you join me this summer and learn how to SUMMER SOBER together in a new way?

This summer I’m starting a new campaign called SUMMER SOBER and it’s going to be so much fun. You can join for FREE and over the summer, you’ll get:

• The *free* HOW TO SUMMER SOBER GUIDE with proven tips to help you have fun and stay healthy this summer!

• Weekly letters sent right to your inbox from a wide range of recovery writers and experts [beginning May 15^th until after July 4^th] like

  Jonathon M. Seidl
  ,
  Ashley Abercrombie
  ,
  Allison Deraney
  ,
  Dee Rambeau
  ,
  T.B.D.
  ,
  Julie Merberg
  ,
  Tawny Lara
  ,
  Kate Baily
  ,
  newly sober
  , and more!

• Regular texts from me with helpful tips and fun giveaways

• Options for additional support and resources from friends like

  Sober App

To join text SUMMER to 888-920-9446

Let’s connect in a community this summer and do what we know is healthy for us and will help us thrive!

Want to help others along a recovery journey?

Forward this message to a friend you want to SUMMER SOBER with today so they can get access to the free guide.