Love & Recovery

09/11/2026

Some losses come with a script.
And then there are the losses that make a room go quiet.
A death connected to addiction. Su***de. Alcoholism. An overdose. A relationship that held love and chaos at the same time.
We created Love, Still for the people carrying grief that refuses to become tidy—and for the people who want to show up without looking away.
Because the way someone died is not the whole story of how they lived.
Read the story behind Love, Still:
https://loveandrecovery.com/blogs/letters-from-love-and-recovery/love-still-grief-after-addiction-suicide-complicated-loss
If you or someone you love is in immediate crisis, call or text 988.

09/10/2026

Recovery rarely happens in one dramatic moment. It's built through small, courageous choices made again and again — especially the quiet ones no one else sees.

Full story:

Discover the true story behind the On This Day sobriety anniversary card—and how one voice note became a recovery card loved by thousands.

09/09/2026

Not sure what to write in a sobriety card? Start with the truth — tell them what you've seen, what their recovery means to you, and why you're proud.

Full guide:

Not sure what to write in a sobriety card? Real examples for a friend, partner, sponsor, or yourself — no greeting-card cliches required.

09/08/2026

A person is never just their worst chapter. This National Recovery Month, we're telling the whole story — not just how it began.

Read more:

Discover the true story behind the On This Day sobriety anniversary card—and how one voice note became a recovery card loved by thousands.

03/15/2023

My dear brother, Chuck

What a light you shine.

Mild
Sweet
Oh, so kind.

Compassion fills your soul.

Radiating
Pulsating
Love for the whole.

Unaware of your goodness.

Not wanting to be saved
Only wanting to be seen.

I satiate my heart
In the sweetness of yours
We are…one in the same

Our guards have come down
Nothing to hide
Nothing to shame

Twinkling
Dancing
Shining our lights

Siblings by blood
Aligned by our souls

Two energies entwined
In this tango of life.

Twinkling in harmony
Witnessing the whole

My brother,
You seep…
Into my heart

Cracking it open
Wide
Apart

Thank you
for loving
me and the boys.

And all who surround you
with your magnetic poise.

What a light you shine.

Mild
Sweet
Oh, so kind.

Compassion fills your soul.

Radiating
Pulsating
Love for the whole.

❤️

12/16/2022

Belonging is a choice. Belonging is a state of being.

Since I was little, I often felt like I didn’t fit in. I’m willing to bet that lots of us felt that way.

And, I had a lot of friends. I wasn’t bullied or made to wear handmade clothes or hand-me-downs.

There were no outwardly signs that would reflect to me that I didn’t fit in. There was no evidence of this to be true.

I just felt it.

And, if you have known me since childhood, you might be surprised by this realization.

While I had a lot of confidence, there was an inner doubt when it came to personal relationships and friend groups.

And even to this day, I will question my sense of belonging in groups and interpersonal relationships.

The fact is we came into this world alone and we will leave it alone.

But what we do with it in between those two points is up to us.

We can choose to belong or we can choose separation. I’ve chosen separation for a lot of my life.

The first step to releasing separation is really anchoring in to I BELONG IN THIS WORLD.

Not only do I belong, but I matter to those around me.

It’s been bubbling up heavily for me lately and the work is to continually come into a place of belonging deep within my heart.

Today, each and every moment of today, I choose to belong.

By continuing to practice this heart healing, there will come a point where it isn’t a conscious choice anymore but rather a sense of being.

Ooooh…I’m loving this.

Belonging is a state of being.

Happy Friday friends.

11/15/2022

In honor of National Pickle Day!

She never knew that their could be a life—beyond pickled.

That joy and laughter would return and
she would be
really quite tickled.

Leading up to the last soak
it felt like chaos, despair and really no hope.
Was this life really a hoax?

How could it be that sobriety
would set her free?

She cried in the liquor aisle
As she said farewell to her cadre of friends.

Goodbye for now—I’m sorry; there won’t be an amends.

How do you live a life beyond being pickled?

It starts with a hand raised up to the sky.
Ask for help and in the blink of an eye…

You can be living a life—that with your tickled.

11/12/2022

What if we allowed labels to simply fall away?

I'm shy.
I'm stubborn.
I'm too much.
I'm not enough.

Labels used to feel validating. A reason for my behavior.

I'm an introvert.
I'm an extrovert.

Labels provide a reason to say no. I'm sorry, I can't. I am an introvert.🙂

When I first discovered Human Design, I found it fascinating and even thought I might study it in great detail to someday help people to find "alignment" through HD.

I am a Manifesting Generator (MG for short). We have lots of energy and create lots of things. Yep! That would be me.

When I had my first reading, I was blown away. I felt as if the reader knew me so well. Thinking back on it, I felt the same way when I had an enneagram reading and any type of astrological reading.

I believe in all of it.

And, once you know your Human Design Type, you can live your life in full "alignment," peace and harmony by following guidelines to easy living.

Sounds great! Right?

It is.

But I am discovering that it's just another label; putting me in another pretty little box tied with a bow.

It's similar to astrology. I am a Ta**us.

Watch out! If you mess with the bull, you might get the horns! 😊

Being a Ta**us gives me extra permission to be stubborn and to blame it on my sign.

It has always been easy for me to fall back on a label...a story that I am telling myself and the world for why I am the way I am.

I love all of this stuff. It's so intriguing and fun. Signs can validate my behaviors, but I find them more limiting than liberating.

As I continue on this human/spiritual adventure, I find I no longer need validation for my actions or a rulebook on how to live in alignment.

I'm deepening into just being.

Sometimes fun and silly. Sometimes serious and frilly (only thing I could think that rhymed with silly).

I encompass it all--introvert, extrovert, smart, novice, active and healthy, sometimes not-so-healthy, intuitive and restful, stubborn, expressive, spontaneous, and so much more.

I am ALL of it.

Labels no longer define me.

A life without labels feels expansive and more adventurous to me. It feels like I have multiple options available at any time with no preconceptions to limit my experience.

What if we allowed restrictive labels to simply fall away and allowed ourselves freedom in the moment to be whatever feels right at that space and time.

What if we trusted ourselves so much that we didn't need a Human Design strategy to dictate how we respond to life.

What if we just knew...our own self-worth and validation deep in our soul.

Now here's where I am going to contradict myself--and I can because I am that I am. 😉

These are universal labels that do not separate us from anything.

We are infinite. We are love. We are light.

xo
Rene

09/05/2022

There is an activating energy around integrity.

Integrity is about wholeness and being complete.

It’s been a word and feeling that has been coming up for me in my field of consciousness for the past few weeks and it’s worth closer examination.

When thinking about integrity, I often thought I was born with a missing integrity chromosome (ha)!

I used to blame it on my ancestry as I am a descendent of Pretty Boy Floyd, a bank robber in the early 1900’s. I always heard he robbed from the rich to give to the poor. A quick Google search says he robbed banks and would destroy mortgage statements when leaving the bank, essentially helping people out with their mortgage.

When I first got sober, I realized the extent of my “little white lies” – lies thought to be insignificant and justified.

Telling a friend or loved one that you are sick or that you have other plans when turning down a social invitation. The truth being that you are really just an introvert or just don’t feel like going.

Lying about drinking—I did this all of the time.

After giving up the booze, I started practicing telling the truth with love and deep compassion for myself. “I am sorry, I just don’t feel like being social.”

Have you ever considered the energy surrounding a “little white lie” and the energy surrounding the truth?

In the online coaching world, there are lots of marketing strategies coaches use to get people to “move,” – to purchase.

Some will say that some of their spots have sold in an upcoming program to show that “others believe in this program and are buying” when in reality no one has purchased yet.

Imagine the energy surrounding the post that spots are selling (when in reality none have sold yet) versus the energy around the post that spots are selling (when they really are).

When I launched my first online coaching program a few weeks ago, and people started purchasing, my energy was off the charts! I was so excited!

A way different vibe than saying people were buying but knowing that wasn’t the case, yet.

It’s night and day.

The energy around the truth is palpable. It can be felt. It ignites more of that positive energy.

The truth ignites more of the same.

08/25/2022

Awash

me in the rain.

Cleanse my soul.

Let the rain sink deep into my being,

cleansing my roots as far as they go.

Let it go even further still

loosening debris

as it gently slips away.

Realigning.
Reconfiguring.
Remembering…more

Awash

me in love.

Satiate my soul.

Let the love sink deep into my being

nourishing my roots as far as they go.

Let it go even further still

enveloping all of me

in the light of divine love from within…

deeply within my soul.

Awash over me

again and again.