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

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...

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...

“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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Charlie Bickford has been working for Maine Paint since he got sober two decades ago, and, as general manager of its four locations, he tries to open that door for others newly sober. “If somebody...