Voices of Recovery

Closing out our April "Working in Recovery" series is the powerful story of Laurie—a woman who transformed nearly three decades of substance use into a life of purpose, service, and lasting recovery. Laurie used drugs for 29 consecutive years, a journey that took her from a brief marriage in her twenties to San Francisco, where codependency led her deeper into addiction, even using substances she...

Spiritual Principle a Day for April 25, read by Laurie Donations via PayPal and questions may be directed to: voicesofrecoverypod@gmail.com April 25 Compassion Toward All "I have a deep compassion for the still-suffering addict, be it the addict who is sitting in the rooms of Narcotics Anonymous, the addict who has yet to find the rooms, or especially the addict who left and has yet to find t...

Just for Today meditation for April 25, read by Laurie Donations via PayPal and questions may be directed to: voicesofrecoverypod@gmail.com April 25 Embracing reality "Recovery is a reality for us today." Basic Text, p. 97 ––––=–––– Pain and misery were realities in our using lives. We were unwilling either to accept our living situation or to change what was unacceptable in our lives. W...

Spiritual Principle a Day for April 24, read by Sophie X. Donations via PayPal and questions may be directed to: voicesofrecoverypod@gmail.com April 24 Faith and Step Three "In the Third Step, faith gives us the capacity to actually make a decision and carry that decision into action." —NA Step Working Guides, Step Three, “Spiritual Principles” ––––=–––– When we look back at early recove...

Just for Today meditation for April 24, read by Laurie Donations via PayPal and questions may be directed to: voicesofrecoverypod@gmail.com April 24 Twelve steps of life "Through abstinence and through working the Twelve Steps of Narcotics Anonymous, our lives have become useful." Basic Text, p. 8 ––––=–––– Before coming to Narcotics Anonymous, our lives were centered around using. For t...

Spiritual Principle a Day for April 23, read by Laurie Donations via PayPal and questions may be directed to: voicesofrecoverypod@gmail.com April 23 The Value of Our Individuality "We are mindful of our behavior and our surroundings without giving up our individuality." —Living Clean, Chapter 6, “Moving Beyond ‘Social Acceptability’” ––––=–––– Rock bottom means different things to differ...

Just for Today meditation for April 23, read by Laurie Donations via PayPal and questions may be directed to: voicesofrecoverypod@gmail.com April 23 A God of our own understanding "Many of us understand God to be simply whatever force keeps us clean." Basic Text, p. 25 ––––=–––– Some of us enter recovery with a working understanding of a Higher Power. For a lot of us, however, "God&...

Spiritual Principle a Day for April 22, read by Sophie X. Donations via PayPal and questions may be directed to: voicesofrecoverypod@gmail.com April 22 The Creative Action of Sharing Ourselves "Sharing with others keeps us from feeling isolated and alone. This process is a creative action of the spirit." —Basic Text, Chapter 7: Recovery and Relapse ––––=–––– Many of us, even with time cl...

Just for Today meditation for April 22, read by Sophie X. Donations via PayPal and questions may be directed to: voicesofrecoverypod@gmail.com April 22 Traveling the open road "This is our road to spiritual growth." Basic Text, p. 35 ––––=–––– When we arrived at our first NA meeting, it looked like the end of the road to many of us. We weren't going to be able to use anymore. We were spiritually b...

Spiritual Principle a Day for April 21, read by Sophie X. Donations via PayPal and questions may be directed to: voicesofrecoverypod@gmail.com April 21 Communicating Respect "When we regard one another with respect, we open the door to a different kind of communication." —Living Clean, Chapter 7, “Principles, Practice, and Perspective” ––––=–––– Outside NA, in our specific cultures or ne...

Just for Today meditation for April 21, read by Sophie X. Donations via PayPal and questions may be directed to: voicesofrecoverypod@gmail.com April 21 Fear "We have found that we had no choice except to completely change our old ways of thinking or go back to using." Basic Text, p. 21 ––––=–––– Many of us find that our old ways of thinking were dominated by fear. We were afraid that we...

Just for Today meditation for April 20, read by Kathie Purple Donations via PayPal and questions may be directed to: voicesofrecoverypod@gmail.com April 20 Detachment "Addiction is a family disease, but we could only change ourselves." IP No. 13, "Youth and Recovery" ––––=–––– Many of us come from severely damaged families. At times, the insanity that reigns among our relatives...

Spiritual Principle a Day for April 20, read by Kathie Purple Donations via PayPal and questions may be directed to: voicesofrecoverypod@gmail.com April 20 The Journey toward Unconditional Love "We greet each other with the recognition reserved for survivors of the same nearly fatal catastrophe. This shared experience, more than anything else, contributes to the atmosphere of unconditional lo...

Just for Today meditation for April 19, read by Kathie Purple Donations via PayPal and questions may be directed to: voicesofrecoverypod@gmail.com April 19 Footwork "So many times, addicts have sought the rewards of hard work without the labor." Basic Text, p. 33 ––––=–––– When we first came to NA, some of us wanted everything, and right away. We wanted the serenity, the cars, the happy...

Spiritual Principle a Day for April 19, read by Kathie Purple Donations via PayPal and questions may be directed to: voicesofrecoverypod@gmail.com April 19 Finding Self-Acceptance with the Serenity Prayer "We learn to live with our frailties and imperfections." —Living Clean, Chapter 1, “A Vision of Hope” ––––=–––– Many of us have ideas in our heads of what we think we should be. These ideas may c...

Spiritual Principle a Day for April 18, read by Kathie Purple Donations via PayPal and questions may be directed to: voicesofrecoverypod@gmail.com April 18 Searching for Our Purpose "As we seek our Higher Power’s will for us, we come to an understanding of our purpose. Spiritual awakening is a process. Maybe it is what the whole process is about." —Living Clean, Chapter 3, “Creative Acti...

Just for Today meditation for April 18, read by Kathie Purple Donations via PayPal and questions may be directed to: voicesofrecoverypod@gmail.com April 18 "I understand" "We humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings." Step Seven ––––=–––– Once we are entirely ready to have our character defects removed, many of us are entirely ready! Ironically, that's when the trouble r...

Just for Today meditation for April 17, read by Kathie Purple Donations via PayPal and questions may be directed to: voicesofrecoverypod@gmail.com April 17 Priority: meetings "I initially felt that it would be impossible to attend more than one or two meetings a week. It just wouldn't fit in with my busy schedule. I later learned that my priorities were 180 degrees reversed. It was the ev...

Spiritual Principle a Day for April 17, read by Kathie Purple Donations via PayPal and questions may be directed to: voicesofrecoverypod@gmail.com April 17 Goodwill for the Common Good "By practicing open-mindedness, we nurture an attitude of goodwill toward others and become willing to serve with our common good in mind." —It Works, Tradition Two, “Applying Spiritual Principles” ––––=––...

Just for Today meditation for April 16, read by Kathie Purple Donations via PayPal and questions may be directed to: voicesofrecoverypod@gmail.com April 16 "Acting as if" "Today, we seek solutions, not problems. We try what we have learned on an experimental basis." Basic Text p. 55 ––––=–––– The first time we heard that we should "act as if " many of us exclaimed, &q...

Spiritual Principle a Day for April 16, read by Kathie Purple Donations via PayPal and questions may be directed to: voicesofrecoverypod@gmail.com April 16 The Practice of Discipline "Discipline is commitment in action, a demonstration of our willingness." —Living Clean, Chapter 6, “Commitment” ––––=–––– Because of its past association with punishment, rigidity, or plain old drudgery, di...

Continuing the April “Working in Recovery” series is the story of Kathie Purple. What began as a battle with addiction in the Bronx ultimately became a lifelong journey of recovery, service, and redemption. Growing up in the Bronx, Kathie’s struggle with addiction began at just 12 years old. What started as an attempt to manage her weight and cope with deep insecurities quickly turned into somethi...

Just for Today meditation for April 15, read by Kathie Purple Donations via PayPal and questions may be directed to: voicesofrecoverypod@gmail.com April 15 Keep coming back "We have come to enjoy living clean and want more of the good things that the NA Fellowship holds for us." Basic Text p. 26 ––––=–––– Can you remember a time when you looked at the addicts recovering in NA and wondere...

Spiritual Principle a Day for April 15, read by Kathie Purple Donations via PayPal and questions may be directed to: voicesofrecoverypod@gmail.com April 15 Honesty Becomes Second Nature ". . . in the beginning, we may have to consciously practice being honest. As we continue this practice, we find dishonesty progressively more uncomfortable, perhaps even agonizing; and gradually we notice tha...

Just for Today meditation for April 14, read by Kathie Purple Donations via PayPal and questions may be directed to: voicesofrecoverypod@gmail.com April 14 A new vision "Do we really want to be rid of our resentments, our anger, our fear?" Basic Text p. 33 ––––=–––– Why do we call them "shortcomings"? Perhaps they should be called "long-goings," because that's oft...