


Dear Women in Twelve Step Programs
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...
We Are All Recovering From Something
SHE RECOVERS founder Dawn Nickel shares what “we are all recovering from something” means to her as well as some fundamental truths she has discovered over her three decades of recovery. If I’ve learned anything over the past three decades of my own...
When Your Mother Dies
My mom was only 68 years old when she died from leukemia on April 27, 2000. Most days it feels like forever since we lost her, but I still wake up once in a blue while (her saying, not sure where it came from) and forget that she is gone. And it hurts so hard. I...Announcing the Sober Blogger Team for She Recovers in NYC, May 5-7, 2017
I think you have all heard about our amazing keynote speakers for She Recovers in NYC – Marianne Williamson, Glennon Doyle Melton, Gabby Bernstein and Elizabeth Vargas – and Elena Brower will also be joining us as a special guest for the weekend. We are...
Women are Dying and We Need To Do More
I’m shattered. I sometimes feel like every second living breath I take (as in – half of my life) is devoted to telling anyone who will listen (or read, or view) that women can and do recover. Not just from addiction to drugs and alcohol but to a whole lot of other...She Recovers List of the Top 12 Female Sober Bloggers in Cyberspace
WE DO RECOVER – AND SOMETIMES WE DO IT – IN CYBERSPACE When Taryn and I first sat down to identify a list of the women we think are doing great online work spreading the word about recovery, we soon realized that the list could get very long! There are so...We’re Stronger Together
Only a few sleeps ago since we launched She Recovers in NYC and I’m feeling kind of tired. Happy tired but still. Also feeling like: 1. This project has chosen us. 2. The overwhelming support that we have received related to the event is overwhelming. 3. We...
Five Years Later
My recovery from drug addiction started in 1987, but my recovery from workaholism began just five years ago – in February, 2011. The following is a very close-to-actual conversation that I had with my physician when I finally started to realize that I...

Relax, Refresh, Refocus
We just wrapped up our 8th She Recovers Retreat a few weeks ago here in the beautiful Riviera Maya, Mexico. As always – it was a week of joyful connection – with our “selves” and with each other, with our “breathe” and our...

What Will Matter
In June 2005, I almost died when a cancerous tumor perforated my colon. I was quite sick for several months, and I had a lot of time to reflect on how fortunate I was to have survived. At around the same time, my friend Donna gave me a framed print of a poem written...

Do You Know What Workaholism Looks Like?
I want to share this list of Signposts of Workaholism for a couple of reasons. The first is that I need to remind myself about these indicators. The second is that I wonder if you or somebody you love might need to know them too. Signposts of Workaholism We find it...

Giving Thanks is Easy
We enjoyed a very relaxing Thanksgiving long weekend here in our house. We had a lovely traditional turkey dinner last night and then Grandboy slept over. Grandboy sleepovers are one of the highlights in our life these days for sure. At this moment the little...

Life Gets Good in Recovery
Once upon a time there was a young girl who, by the time she was 17, was rather horrifically addicted to drugs (including the liquid drug, alcohol). Fortunately, the young girl got pregnant at aged 20 and to this day she swears with absolute certainty that the...


Tea Time
I had a tea party tonight. My house overflowed with recovering women from my extended circle and my kitchen table didn’t have a square inch free of mostly healthy snacks, quite a few gluten-free and vegan because some of us eat like that. We had five little kids...
