The beautiful Icelandic tradition of giving books on Christmas Eve

What a beautiful tradition for Christmas--I would love to see people in recovery adopt this--read from the Big Book, the Pocket Sponsor, various meditation books..a night of graditude and recovery sharing!

The beautiful Icelandic tradition of giving books on Christmas Eve : TreeHugger: "Book lovers will want to adopt this lovely holiday tradition, which melds literary and holiday pleasures into a single event.

Icelanders have a beautiful tradition of giving books to each other on Christmas Eve and then spending the night reading. This custom is so deeply ingrained in the culture that it is the reason for the Jolabokaflod, or “Christmas Book Flood,” when the majority of books in Iceland are sold between September and December in preparation for Christmas giving."



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Research reveals adults believe other kids are obese or abusing drugs but don’t worry about their own children

OK--this is the truth and reflects what I deal with a lot--I have always said about "Sober Coaching Your Toxic Teen" that by the time parents know they need it--it is too late! Get the workbook now and learn what you need to know BEFORE you get slapped in the face.

I know parents used to believe that soda was good for kids!!!

Research reveals adults believe other kids are obese or abusing drugs but don’t worry about their own children | The Courier-Mail: "PARENTS “underrate” their child’s significant health issues with research revealing adults believe other children are obese and using drugs but are not worried about their own."



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Rehabs address lower success rates in gay community-we should too

I went to a speakers meetings Sunday night and a recovering woman from the LGBTQ community was the speaker--powerful lead she gave and very inspiriing to all of us--especially the newcomers in the room. I was reminded of how difficult it can be when you are "different" then your peers in some way. When I arrived in several fellowships in 1969--I was "different" (a hippie who also did drugs) and almost run off--but my tenacity and AND the few who reached out to me even though many people in recovery saw me as a threat, are what kept me from going back out.

This Holiday season, make a speical effort to reach out to anyone you see as different--do you not like their looks? They bore you at a meeting, they are strongly religious and you are spiritual, they are gay and you are not, they are young and you are old, they are professionals and you are a blue collar worker? Reach out this year and the gift you give will be to yourself. (read about the Gay community's plight below):

Rehabs address lower success rates in gay community - NY Daily News: "Molly Gilbert, who works at the PRIDE Institute — a Minneapolis-based addiction treatment program founded in 1986 with a specific focus on treating the LGBTQ community — said that most data shows that somewhere between 28% and 35% of the LGBTQ community has a substance abuse problem."

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