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The Addict Who Still Suffers

 Brothers and Sisters in Recovery 🙏 Yesterday was sobering — no pun intended. I learned that my very good friend’s stepbrother passed away from an overdose. It hit hard. Real hard. Because every one of us knows the truth deep down… this disease does not play fair. Addiction does not care about age, family, intelligence, kindness, or potential. It steals sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, and friends. It leaves empty chairs at dinner tables and broken hearts that never fully heal. And the hardest part? Most of us know that person could have been us. Some of us have overdosed and somehow made it back. Some of us woke up in hospital beds. Some of us were brought back with Narcan. Some of us buried friends we laughed with just weeks before. We’ve watched addiction turn beautiful souls into statistics. That reality should shake every recovering addict to the core. But here’s what I also know: recovery gives us a responsibility. We are not just staying clean for ourselves anymore. We ar...
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Don't Forget to Breathe

 Brothers and Sisters in Recovery 🙏


Don’t forget to breathe. Sounds simple, but when life starts stacking weight on your shoulders, that’s the first thing we forget. We hold it in—stress, fear, pressure—like somehow clenching tighter is going to fix it. It doesn’t. It just makes the load heavier.


In recovery, we’re learning a different way. When life shows up on life’s terms, instead of locking up, we loosen our grip. We breathe. We pause. We remind ourselves that we don’t have to react the way we used to. That old script? It led us somewhere we don’t want to go back to. So flip it.


Breathing is more than air—it’s space. Space to think. Space to choose. Space to remember who we’re becoming. You’ve already made it through things that once felt impossible. Don’t overlook that. There’s strength in you that didn’t exist before recovery, and it shows up in moments like this.


So today, whatever you’re carrying—set it down for a second. Take a breath. Then take another. You’re still here, still fighting, still moving forward. That’s what matters.


One day at a time.

Easy does it.

This too shall pass.

Keep coming back.


With love and gratitude,

Gary G

Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 2, 2026 at 6:14 AM

    I absolutely appreciate and love your blog. Each reading is so meaningful. Thank you for this gift.

    ReplyDelete

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