Check out how others got sober — and then you decide what is best for you. — Stephen King has no memory of writing Cujo, his thriller about a rabid St. Bernard gone mad. That is a significant blackout, if ever there was one. King also admits there are several other books he has no memory of writing. Incredible. There are various ways to find sobriety: spontaneous…

Think again — you may be more blessed than you realize. — I have a dear friend who is always impeccably dressed, hair and makeup perfect, nails manicured, and drives a beautiful yet older model car. She divorced many years ago, and her next love to whom she was engaged died from a short yet painful disease. For the past ten years…

Surrendering isn’t giving up — it’s allowing and accepting. — Sometimes, life goes merrily along without a hitch, and other times, it's as though a vast gray cloud has descended, and we can't find our way. It's curious how this can happen unexpectedly as we skip through our days, unaware of what is coming. I'm not talking about a death…

Don’t be wishy-washy about quitting — you have a momentous task ahead of you. — I was afraid I was destroying my liver. I knew with every night of alcohol abuse, I was killing off brain cells. Breast cancer risk is significantly higher for women who drink — I was aware of this, too. I wanted to return to my love of art — painting…

We continually made excuses for not attempting to reach for our dreams during our drinking years. — I always had fabulous plans to travel throughout Europe for a few months. I envisioned painting my version of a "Starry Night." Telling my story via a blog. My list was endless. How about you? Do you have great plans? …

Quit-lit books are filled with motivating and touching quotes that helped me find sobriety and can help you, too. — I was desperate when I decided to quit drinking. I needed all the help I could get. I started my sober journey by filling my bookshelves from floor to ceiling with quit-lit books. Okay, that might be a slight exaggeration. …

We can all live a creative life even if we believe we don’t have what it takes. — Is it feasible to build a creative life that appears contrary to the norm? I figured out how to live in two different states. Eighty or so percent of the time, I live in Arizona with my husband and sweet Golden Retriever, Merlin. I spend the balance of my time…

We must override the fear that is at the root of our insecurity. — There’s an underlying vein of fear running through me. It always has been there, yet I’ve learned to overcome it by just doing, as Nike instructed us decades ago. I wanted to write and submit articles to various online publications, yet I was afraid. I vacillated. I hesitated. …

Don’t let the opportunity pass to be kind to someone you know could use a verbal hug. — Yesterday, after a pickleball match, Sandra confessed that she was feeling insecure about her level of play. She thought she wasn’t as good as the rest of us and perhaps should take a break to rethink whether she would continue. She seemed sad and embarrassed by this, vulnerable. My immediate…