Recognizing Carley Moore as a SHE RECOVERS Gem SHE RECOVERS® Foundation Volunteer Recognition “Being able to give back to a community which has given so much to so many is one of the greatest honors of my life.” — Carley Moore, SHE RECOVERS Volunteer Recognizing...
A Radical Self Love Meditation Guided by SHE RECOVERS® Founder Taryn Strong “We understand that the practice of radical self-love is paramount to our well-being.” ~ SHE RECOVERS Foundation, Intention & Guiding Principle ~ In honor of #RecoveryMonth we...
77 ways to practice radical self-love “We understand that the practice of radical self-love is paramount to our well-being.” ~ SHE RECOVERS Foundation, Intention & Guiding Principle ~ In celebration of National Recovery Month the following suggestions...
Recognizing Jay Springer as a SHE RECOVERS Gem SHE RECOVERS® Foundation Volunteer Recognition SHE RECOVERS is changing lives! As women recover, they become empowered to help the people around them. The potential for healing is unlimited!” – Jay Springer, SHE RECOVERS...
Recognizing Carrie Potter as a SHE RECOVERS Gem SHE RECOVERS® Foundation Volunteer Recognition “Volunteering with SHE RECOVERS Foundation for me is about reciprocity, embodying my values, and co-creating a legacy of social change.” – Carrie Potter, SHE RECOVERS...
Recognizing Cary Kelley Wright as a SHE RECOVERS Gem SHE RECOVERS® Foundation Volunteer Recognition “Being a volunteer for SHE RECOVERS is a way to give back to a community that lifted me up in my early recovery and gave me a place to be seen and held. This...
Recognizing Sherri Beatty as a SHE RECOVERS Gem SHE RECOVERS® Foundation Volunteer Recognition “SHE RECOVERS put me on the road to recovery by introducing to me the most important part of recovery, connection!” – Sherri Beatty, SHE RECOVERS Volunteer...
Recognizing Nicole Pinky Patterson as a SHE RECOVERS Gem SHE RECOVERS® Foundation Volunteer Recognition “Being a SHE RECOVERS Foundation Volunteer means that I have an amazing platform in which to be a voice for recovering women. It means that all the pain I...
Recognizing Jen Olmos as a SHE RECOVERS Gem SHE RECOVERS® Foundation Volunteer Recognition “I was so isolated in my addiction. I am living proof of what a welcoming and supportive community for women like me can do. Being a volunteer in this community is the...
73 ways to celebrate and create connection with yourself ( body, mind, emotions & spirit!) “Recovery is a journey to wholeness. We learn to take care of our body, mind, and spirit.” ~ SHE RECOVERS Foundation, Intention & Guiding Principle ~ In celebration of...
Mending Hearts: Healing From Addictive & Exploitative Relationships | Mental Health Monday With Marissa Boyce Monday, December 6 @ 11:00 am PST Mending Hearts: Healing From Addictive & Exploitative Relationships With Marissa Boyce During this session of...
Entrepreneurs Igniting Change Through Recovery | Mental Health Monday With Elora Kindred & Emily Lynn Paulson Originally Aired on Monday, November 29 @ 11:00 am PST Entrepreneurs Igniting Change Through Recovery With Elora Kindred & Emily Lynn Paulson...
Overdose Awareness Day 2021 | SHE RECOVERS Community Stories By Kelly Fitzgerald Junco | SHE RECOVERS® Foundation On this overdose awareness day we honor those who have been impacted by overdose. We thank the members of the SHE RECOVERS Community for courageously...
From Shaky in Sobriety to Rooted in Recovery : Celebrating One Year of SHE RECOVERS Together Online By Kaitlin Walker Before SHE RECOVERS I had been on my recovery journey for a few years but felt really shaky in my sobriety. ~ Kailtin Walker ~ In 2017 I sent an email...
Giving Thanks for Recovery Community Stories of Hope & Healing | SHE RECOVERS® Foundation Since becoming a part of the SHE RECOVERS community my life has significantly improved. I attend as many retreats and SHE RECOVERS Together Online Gatherings that I can....
Recovery is a Gift Community Stories of Hope & Healing | SHE RECOVERS® Foundation It is my greatest wish that other women still suffering may find this [ SHE RECOVERS® ] movement and have access to all that is offered. ~ Jessica Foody | SHE RECOVERS® Coach...
First of all – and this is an important point – I am one of you. For the past thirty years I’ve attended and been involved with a twelve-step recovery program for people who struggle with addiction. I’ve probably attended thousands of meetings, done years’ worth of...
You can listen to this blog here: This story has a happy ending. I need to tell you that here at the top of the page, because things will happen in the paragraphs below that will make you doubt the ending. I don’t care for tension, so I am taking it out here for both...
My 200-year present I recently heard a theory about how we each live in a 200-year span of history. You mark the beginning of your span, your “200-year present,” by thinking of the oldest person who could have held you as a baby (my great grandmother, born in 1900)....
My sons are 12 and 14, and they are fully and completely their ages. This means they are constantly engaged in testing both their limits and mine. A few weeks ago, report cards came home. Things escalated quickly and I could feel my 12-year-old digging his heels into...
“To succeed, most people need a community of support.” – Cheryl Strayed Many of us are working on our recovery alone or piecing it together from various programs, therapies and online resources. These tools are powerful, but they do not replace the need for actual...
It’s Day Six of 2018. Is your resolve shaky? Are you rethinking your decision to change? To stay sober, stay sane, stay steady on your new course? Are you starting to give into the voice that says: “Maybe it wasn’t that bad. Maybe I can stay the same.” I get it. I...
The truth pattern of recovery: Clarity. Rock Bottom. Acceptance. Gratitude. Lately I have developed a healthy fear of answers. Answers seem to have too much rigidity around them. Black and White. You’re Wrong, I’m Right. Answers tend to turn ugly, quickly. I much...
“Relationships change.” My father-in-law’s new wife gifted me with this life truth a few months after she married into our family. I had just honestly and gently shared with her that my husband, her new son-in-law, and his brothers were feeling abandoned by their...
The post below, originally published at The Fix, was written by Rebecca Rush who attended a She Recovers retreat in Bali earlier this year. (This fantastic picture is a favorite from that trip!) “I knew something needed to change in my life and originally signed up...
Please help us welcome Erin W. who will be writing for and managing our She Recovers blog. She is amazing. Read on and see for yourself. ~Dawn~ The Reasons It started with Baby #1. I like a routine; a schedule. And I read that babies do, too. So every night at...
Guest Blog Post by Lucy Rocca Exactly six years ago, I drank my last alcoholic drink. It was a bottle of strong cider (I didn’t even like cider but had found it lurking in my fridge), and I consumed it on top of the three bottles of wine that I’d been working my way...
GUEST POST BY CAROLINE BLACK Most of us recovering from addiction are open to the idea of accessing extra help. Regardless of whether we need constant or occasional help, having access to innovative resources and tools can only be a good thing. If you need help...
Relapse is common in early recovery from drug or alcohol abuse. Many long-term alcoholics and drug addicts fail the first time they attempt to quit. This is because the intense cravings experienced by substance abusers are actually due to changes in brain chemistry....
I felt the crack split slowly beneath my feet as it gave way and I plunged into the deep freezing water. Grab my camera! I shouted as the weight of my wool coat got heavy and my body began to sink into the lake. I looked up at my friend Rae standing just a few feet...
Shelly Dimitrijevic’s professional and philanthropic activities have always focused on improving the lives of others. She began her nursing career at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis and went on to become a LifeFlight nurse specializing in neonatal, pediatric, and cardiovascular intensive care.
Shelly has been involved with numerous charities focusing on children and education including the Charlee and the Chocolate Factory gala, The Venus Orbit, Design For A Cure, Jackson Memorial, and Impact Oasis. In 2010 she founded the Lotus program, a program that focused on educating parents on the nutritional needs of children and basic child development. Shelly also served on the Frost Science Museum gala committee for 7 years before Co-Chairing the event in 2015.
After a diagnosis of Celiac disease and subsequently receiving Certification as a Nutritional Consultant, Shelly recognized that topically applied products have an effect on her Celiac Disease and overall health. She turned her focus to developing skincare that was free of toxic and hormone-disrupting ingredients.
Since she lost her only sibling in 2012 Shelly has been determined to find a way to contribute to the recovery community in a way that can make a great impact and ensure that others have the resources necessary when they are struggling.
Shelly's substantial contributions to SHE RECOVERS of both time and resources have been instrumental and deeply appreciated.
As a result of being introduced to SHE RECOVERS through retreats and meet-ups, Kirsten will be starting her yoga teacher training in the fall. These retreats also led her to become more deeply involved with SHE RECOVERS in a volunteer capacity. Kirsten was instrumental in setting up some of the Foundation's grassroots groups and currently volunteers her time helping SHE RECOVERS Foundation to design and implement the Volunteer Chapter Network.
Kirsten and her husband recently moved from Southern California to Roswell, Georgia to be closer to Kirsten's sister and two young nieces. When she isn't spending time being an aunt, you can find Kirsten hanging out with their rescue Labrador or exploring their new state.
Mary Beth is a founding member of SHE RECOVERS Support for Legal Professionals and is active at the local level with SHE RECOVERS in the Bay Area. Mary Beth has been living a sober life in recovery for over 26 years. She also has a history of trauma and abuse, from which she’s worked hard to recover as well. 6 years into her recovery, Mary Beth attended Berkeley Law. She worked at a large firm in Silicon Valley, then litigated class actions for the federal government. In 2014 Mary Beth was appointed an Administrative Law Judge. She recently retired, so she could devote her time to completing her writing and being more active in the recovery community.
She regularly speaks on behalf of LifeRing and develops relationships with organizations supportive of the multiple pathways approach. In August 2020, Mary Beth had an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal, I Beat Addiction without God, where she described building a personal recovery plan by combining ideas from LifeRing, Women for Sobriety, and Narcotics Anonymous. In November 2020 she had an op-ed published in the Philadelphia Inquirer, I was a federal judge, and I support Safehouse. Here’s why. She is currently working on a full-length memoir.
Taryn Strong is a founder of SHE RECOVERS® Foundation as well as a trauma-informed yoga instructor, recovery coach, aromatherapist, and herbalist (and daughter to Mama Dawn). Taryn has developed a unique yoga retreat program and led over 40 yoga for recovery retreats since 2012. She is also the host of the SHE RECOVERS Podcast and most recently created and taught the inaugural trauma-informed SHE RECOVERS Yoga Teacher Training Program. Operating from a trauma-informed lens and a firm believer in anti-oppressive practices, Taryn brings an empathic and invitational approach to healing - empowering women to find and follow individualized pathways and patchworks of recovery.
Taryn's courageous vulnerability and passion for recovering out-loud has made her an influential voice in the global recovery movement - smashing the stigma often associated with substance use and mental health issues. Taryn creates and lives with her beloved and two dogs within the ancestral and unceded traditional territory of the Hul’qumi’num and SENĆOŦEN speaking peoples (Saltspring Island).
I am recovering from: Alcohol use disorder, codependency, disordered eating.
The Identity-based group I belong to: Chronic pain & auto-immune disorder, healthcare & allied professionals.
My personal definition of recovery: My personal definition of recovery is the continual process of expanding my awareness to grow spiritually, mentally, and physically enhancing my life-long journey to wholeness.
What led me to SHE RECOVERS: A desire to give back what I have been so graciously given that has led to an amazing life of sustained recovery and spiritual growth. I truly believe that every moment in my life has led me here. One of my favorite stories to share is how I came to find SHE RECOVERS - or rather, how they found me. In short, it involves a spark of curiosity over coffee and a remarkable moment at a SHE RECOVERS Conference that changed the trajectory of my life both professionally and spiritually. You can hear all about it here.
Why I love being a part of this team: It brings me immense joy to work alongside such smart, passionate and committed colleagues and volunteers. I learn so much from them. Not a day goes by where I am not deeply inspired by this team and community.
Those that know me best might describe me as: Tenacious, resourceful, and loving.
How these qualities show up in my everyday life: Love is the foundation for all my thoughts and actions, I am resourceful when confronted with a challenge, and I am tenacious like a "dog with a bone" - I'll never stop chasing the dream.
Something unique you may not already know about me: I have four kidneys and a double bladder. I have vitiligo, an auto-immune disease that destroys or suppresses pigment producing cells on the skin.
Something I am most proud of is… Launching a global nonprofit for women in or seeking recovery from all things.
Radical self-care look for me looks like: Being mindful of ease and learning to pause. And, pampering myself with modalities that foster a healthy body, a clear mind, a pure spirit, and service to others.
What I wanted to be when I grew up: An artist.
Something that is inspiring me right now: Supporting people to find, create, and nurture a relationship with the God / Creator / Higher Power of their understanding.
The SHE RECOVERS Intention & Guiding Principle resonating the most with me right now is… Connection is our sole (soul) purpose. We're stronger together.
My favorite SHE RECOVERS resource is… The SHE RECOVERS Together Online Group where connection, support, and empowerment is available 24 / 7.
I am recovering from: Substance use, trauma including sexual assault, intimate partner violence, codependency, anxiety, and workaholism.
The identity-based group(s) I am a part of: Healthcare & allied professional, cancer survivor, mature woman.
My personal definition of recovery: It changes often, but these days my definition of recovery is simply that recovery is a lifelong journey of healing. I think that not having a solid, static definition is a good thing. It opens the door to empower us all to create individualized and diverse definitions for our own recovery, and it’s a reminder that recovery differs across populations, cultures, and settings.
What led me to SHE RECOVERS: Taryn and I talk about SHE RECOVERS being our 'accidental movement.' So not sure what led me here other than a true desire to create a connective, supportive, and empowering space for women to think / talk about and experience recovery.
Why I love being a part of this team: I want to leave behind a legacy of hope for women in or seeking recovery.
Those that know me best might describe me as: Grateful, curious, and a survivor.
How these qualities show up in my everyday life: I believe that I pass recovery on to express my gratitude, and I call upon my curiosity to figure out what else I can do to support women in recovery. Oh, and I have survived a few near death experiences including surviving cancer.
Something unique you may not already know about me: I really dislike cilantro.
Something I am most proud of: My daughters, more than anything.
Radical self-care look for me looks like: Rest, hanging with other women in recovery, walking in fresh air, reading novels, long hot baths, and sweet, milky tea.
What I wanted to be when I grew up: An actress.
Something that is inspiring me right now: The women working or volunteering to help grow SRF.
The SHE RECOVERS Intention & Guiding Principle resonating the most with me right now is… We are all recovering from something. It all started there!
My favorite SHE RECOVERS resource is… Definitely the SHE RECOVERS Together Online Gatherings - they are such an amazing display of everything that we are about. Volunteerism and support, vulnerability, celebration, and information.
