ACA
I grew up as a grandchild of an ACA and later became a drunk; I don't like pain, fear, and abuse in my life. I had too much from my ACA childhood. I became overly anxious for decades and turned to physical materialism to heal, but it never got better until 2012 and...
The Hunter Dream
From where I’m standing, hidden in a thicket of Pawpaw trees, he can’t see me. He’s walking towards me; unaware he’s being watched. He’s carrying a .22-caliber rifle, and he’s scanning the trees. He’s after squirrels. It’s late October 1939, and he turned 9...
Darling Child
Darling Child who's not a child anymore but will always be my baby,You've grown so much in your spirit that you sometimes question if you're still you. Still you, who you remember as shy, and sheltered- - though your peers have usually seen you as bold and...
Jennifer
I remembered the name of someone I knew when I was very little,before my assigned friend, both of us in second grade, moved in across the street.I searched on her name, and in Facebook. Didn’t find her.Hoping she was still here, that she made it. Such an addict...
What’s the Payoff
Verbal abuse, what’s the payoff?Distance, disconnection, abandonment.I don’t matter, I don’t belong; sense of community lost.No trust or accountability. No safety, no safe-harbor.Up in my tree as soon as I could get away.Comfort, nurture, understanding, support from...
2024 ACA WSO ABC Recovery Writers Delegate Report
As a first time delegate to the Annual Business Conference, I was there more as an observer than as an active participant. I voted on three ballot proposals in a manner that I believed would best serve ACA. My votes were in alignment with the majority decisions. I...
Conglomo Food
Brown bread in a can - soft, and with raisins, and no prep! Consistent. Available at any time. No love in it. Or was there?Sweet, predictable, always there. Packaged up from a conglomo company. Tater tots. Another conglomo food. Stuck in their little shape, unable to...
Playing Baseball is Like Working the 12 Steps
Au-delà de la survie
Il y a 35 ans, ma prof de tai-chi-chuan a exposé ses peintures « sumi-e », et ma « grand-mère de cœur » est tombée en arrêt devant celle-ci, puis me l’a offerte, en s’exclamant « C’est vraiment ton portrait ! » Oui, je pressentais déjà que j’étais une espèce de...
Powerless
What did Powerless mean to my inner child? I was powerless growing up in an incredibly controlling and narcissistic envelope, with players of various narcissistic flavors. No red flags here, all normalized. I was powerless over being assigned the role of family...