Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Women and Longterm Recovery--Home from the Wilson House

This past weekend we had a group of 45 women at The Wilson House for the first "Out of the Woods" retreat. Recovering women from several twelve-step programs came from Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and New York to dig deeper into their recovery programs and into the material of their lives.


We laughed, pondered, debated, cried, wrote, walked, read, ate well, and yes, shopped. (The Manchester Outlets are right down the street). And then we talked about how spending and shopping feature in recovery too.

Some of the highlights included looking at the little-known history of our twelve-step programs, a fabulous presentation by Kathy Catlin—Catlin Wellness—on nutrition for recovery,  and late night girl talk on sex and transferring addictions.

I came home tired but happy. And I am ready to do more of this program. Several people have asked for this retreat in their home town and I would love to do that, and the Albany group is talking about a workshop series (maybe four evenings, or four Saturdays) so we can dig deeper into some of the key topics. I will also be offering “Writing for Recovery” workshop in 2015.

What I feel so strongly today is gratitude for the sisterhood of recovery—the power of women helping each other and the experience of shared wisdom as we go deeper in our recovery. This past weekend was about wanting more than simple abstinence and it was a super-charged experience to be with women who are making that commitment.

More to come soon. Invite your friends.

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