look for the good – when you find it, say something and amplify it!

Consider them a time for growth: Reassess traditions, and be true to yourself and of service to others Are your usual traditions no longer fulfilling? The Rev. Jacob Watson says it’s wise to create new ones Shannon Fisher has built her life on a strong foundation of...

A Saco collision repair shop makes it easier for people in recovery to move on As Jessica Truman reached one year of sobriety in November 2017, her next steps were daunting: Rent an apartment, get a car, find a job and reunite with her three children – all while...

When home is an unabridged island, people in recovery turn to creative means to access support services While life on one of Maine’s 15 unabridged islands can seem idyllic, the reality in geographic isolation, with a finite number of fellow islanders, can lead some...

Across the state, recovery support organizations are grounded in community With a multifaceted issue like addiction, there’s no one road to recovery. In fact, there are many. Community approaches are just as unique. The Bangor area has a community center that...

The recovery community has its own language. We often speak it without even realizing we’re doing it. We grow accustomed to certain words, phrases and nuances. This can be an adjustment when first seeking recovery. I remember mimicking the things I heard and just...

“There’s hope,” says Eric Sorensen. “I keep it simple. I tell them there’s hope.” That’s what he says when he meets someone living what his life was for decades – using narcotics, drinking, sleeping in back alleys, pulling food out of dumpsters, blacking out because...

Creativity is therapeutic, and certainly not just for artists. Stitching sock monkeys, painting on canvas with pre-drawn images or making an altered journal in an art therapy session – these sorts of activities can lighten the mood, forge community or tease out buried...

Drawing on wood or a sketchpad while listening to people’s stories during the 10 recovery meetings he attends a week is soothing and meditative for artist Zoo Cain of Westbrook – and it’s also contagious. “Sometimes other people start doing it,” says Cain, who is well...

Recovery provides a tremendous opportunity to explore and cultivate new parts of ourselves and new ways of living. Many people in the early stages of recovery forge new friendships, try out new hobbies and work to establish new, healthy daily practices in their lives....

Eleven University of Southern Maine graduates had a second, much more intimate commencement ceremony in May, recognizing not only that they had met the graduation requirements, but also the work they had done while committed to a recovery community called the Recovery...

Damien Ramsdell was just two months away from graduating from Bowdoin College with a degree in government and legal studies when he hit rock bottom. “I had made so many attempts to get sober, since about halfway through my junior year,” he said. “That night, after a...

For people in recovery, finding an employer who will give them a chance—despite holes in their employment history—can be a real challenge. “Being in a positive work environment where my recovery was always put first was hard to find,” said Chloe Swerdlow, 37, of...