Category Archives: Essays
A Message from LifeRing’s Chairman of the Board
One of my jobs for LifeRing is keeping an eye on the website comments. It’s a regular occurrence for someone to post a plaintive plea for help as a comment, often as a response to an item that seems completely … Continue reading
Posted in Essays
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“Addiction and Alcoholism: Beyond 12 Steps”
The MSN website carried an article by Maia Szalavitz recently that should be of great interest to those seeking an overview of addiction that looks deeper than “spiritual weakness.” It’s a bit long, but worth the effort. Here it is: … Continue reading
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“Why I Can’t Drink”
One of the hardest things in recovery is simply to remember how bad life was when drinking. Time passes and the painful memories become blurred and they disconnect themselves from the act that brought them about. In a recent note, … Continue reading
Posted in Essays, Keepers
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LifeRing Recovery and Procrustes
A LifeRing supporter recently posted to another website a good description of what sets LifeRing apart. Writing to the forum of www.psychcentral.com, a poster identified as Willcat wrote: In ancient Greek mythology there was a roadside bandit named Procrustes who … Continue reading
Posted in Essays, Media
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Letter From Pelican Bay Prison
LifeRing offers an”e-mail pal” program for people who can’t or prefer not to be involved with our face-t0-face groups. Read about it on this page: E-Mail Pals. One of our members exchanges emails with a person looking for some help … Continue reading
Posted in Essays, Uncategorized
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Message from a LifeRing Convenor
One of LifeRing’s convenors writes: Tonight’s meeting was just one of those wonderful gatherings in which I felt tremendous love and connectedness with each person present. A member with 11 months’ sobriety convened the meeting. It’s such a joy to … Continue reading
Posted in Essays, Meetings
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And Now for Something Completely Different
Miriam C., one of our Irish convenors, sent along an essay that I can’t resist posting, despite it being rather far from the usual fare here: “I guess it’s the other part of me that does it” We’re the proud … Continue reading
Memorial Day, 2011
A personal note: My family never made much of Memorial Day — my father was a young man during WWII, but wasn’t healthy enough for military service; my brothers and I managed to weasel our way out of service during … Continue reading
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Drinking on the Job as an Employee Benefit?
The San Francisco Chronicle, the major newspaper in the Bay Area, carried an article in its Sunday edition that raises some concerns about the culture surrounding the high tech industries that often seem to be re-shaping the world. The article, … Continue reading
LifeRing’s ‘E-mail Pal’ Program Reaches Around the World
One of LifeRing’s programs is called “E-mail Pals.” Sometimes we hear from people who don’t have access to one of our face-to-face meetings and don’t feel comfortable taking part in our online groups. They often are taking a tentative first … Continue reading
