Recovering

By Lisa N.

Recovery – it takes some time.
Minutes turn to days, days to weeks.
While the weeks, they mark the climb.

Work through the months, get to the end.
Recovery is continuous, a journey and path.
No final destination you see, my friend!

Addiction is our illness, connection is our cure.
We wrestle our demons, deal with Life.
Adulting with competence, our goal, to be sure.

Present and feeling, every cry or laugh.
No numbing, no leaving, no escaping.
Living it all fully, not existing only by half.

Course of action is simple, the execution is not.
Struggle with emotions; intense and variable.
Learning how to behave; we change our thoughts.

Better ways of communicating with friends.
We understand ourselves, our family, more.
Life becomes clear, we heal and make amends.

Recovery continues as long as we’re alive.
We continue to grow through our experiences.
We adapt, we keep evolving. We thrive.

Published in A New Leaf – June 2025

  • Poem

    Written by, Jessyka C. Mary Jane,My beloved, my wife, my true love,I’m so sad to be leaving you behind, turning down a different lane,But I know I can do better than you, eventually, although you do send me above,I feel I need to be on the straight and narrow for a little while,Take some time…

    Poem
  • Heard in a Meeting

    “Fear is courage that has said its prayers” Published in A New Leaf – February 2026

    Heard in a Meeting
  • Fire & Light

    Created by, Chris P. This is a drawing I made for the new year 2026, wishing for fire & light within. I started drawing only when I was about 9 months into recovery. Inspired by an MA fellow who shared their drawing. I always thought I couldn’t draw or paint and hence never tried. The…

    Fire & Light
  • Today I Choose

    Written by, Paul D. I was not always able to make choices. It is said that no man can serve two masters. I had only one master and its name was addiction.  This master forbids me to make decent friends because it wants me isolated and alone so it can kill me quietly in its…

    Today I Choose
  • What I Didn’t Do

    Written by, Julie A. Weed once felt like a soft landing — a cushion for my racing mind, a bridge out of loneliness. But over time, the cushion smothered me. Nights blurred into smoke, mornings into fog. I thought I was escaping, but really I was erasing myself. My wife held me through it, even…

    What I Didn’t Do
  • Tradition Two and Humility

    Written by, Anonymous “For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority, a loving God whose expression may come through in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.” -Tradition Two As a recovering marijuana addict, I am constantly reminded of how many “control issues” still lurk around the…

    Tradition Two and Humility