I am making a home inside myself.

A shelter of kindness where everything is forgiven, everything allowed—a quiet patch of sunlight to stretch out without hurry,

where all that has been banished

and buried is welcomed, spoken, listened to

—released.

A fiercely friendly place I can claim as my very own.

I am throwing arms open

to the whole of myself—especially the fearful,

fault-finding, falling apart, unfinished parts, knowing

every seed and weed, every drop of rain, has made the soil richer.

Julia Fehrenbacher--The Most Important Thing

Thanksgiving 2022....

As survivors, we may enter this holiday season with mixed emotions, triggering memories, some complicated family and challenging relationships. This is a time when grief and loss can bring our hopes and our longings to the surface.

So, however you spend the coming days, we encourage you to decide how you keep the holidays—choosing to separate from situations that do not feel safe, or making courageous or quiet stands in your own truths, no matter who you engage with.

Find the space to step away if need be; to breathe, to find humor or bemusement even in the vast ironies of situations you cannot always control. Reach out to those who are connected to you in your recovery. But most of all, be generous and compassionate within yourself.

In the meantime, may the holiday season be full of possibility and new sources of gratitude.

And as always,

ever thankful to be on this journey with you.

Mikele