Author: latahrecoverycenter

by Nancy Casey

Tradition has it that we must emerge from the holiday season with a resolution or two that will make the year ahead better for us in some way. Very often, by the second week in January, those resolutions exist only in memory.

What if, instead of (or along with) organizing something new into our lives, we celebrated all that is new already? As you set yourself up to write a page, consider your possessions, your surroundings, and your attitude. Ask yourself, What’s new?

Think about your most recent shopping—whether in person or online. The fruits of that endeavor will be new to you.

Did anything new come your way over the holidays? Maybe a gift. Maybe a new friend?

Is there anything that you think of as “new,” even though it’s been present in your life for a long time?

Have you tried anything new lately? Think about places you have gone and foods you have eaten. Have external factors changed your routine so that you have new habits, whether you want them or not?

Attitudes might change slowly, but once they do, something about you is “new.” Is there some aspect of your approach to life that is different from a month, a year, or a decade ago? What’s new about it? What does this change mean to you?

Newness and change don’t always bring us joy. Perhaps there is a new aspect to your life, but you like the old version better. You could write about that.

Maybe your writing will come out resembling a list. Or maybe you have a whole big story to tell about something that’s new to you—how it came about, what the “old” was like, and what the change represents.

As you ponder the newness of the new, draw a line at the top of the page where your title will go. Set aside some space for illustration if you like. Start drawing or doodling in writing ideas don’t come to you right away. (Whatever you do to the page will make it “new.”)

As soon as you get an idea, begin writing about it. If you don’t think the idea is very good, write about it anyway. Maybe it will turn into a good one. Maybe a better idea will crowd it out as soon as you start writing and you can write about that idea next.

When you have filled up the page, look back over your work. Add illustration or decoration if you like.

Do your ideas form any kind of a pattern? Do they seem to be about a bigger idea that you hadn’t really planned on writing about? If they do, maybe you can use that insight to think up a title. If they don’t, make up some kind of a title anyway and write it at the top of the page.

Put your initials or a signature on the page, too. And write the date on it. Here is an example of what someone could write.

You can share your work by posting it as a comment below. You can type it in, or take a photo of it and upload the image.

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Raised by God: The Autobiography of Patricia Clayton is a new book that grew out of the Write For You program at LRC. It is the story of a person making herself new after years of addiction and trauma.

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Nancy Casey has lived in Latah County for many years. You can find more of her work here. If you would like some help or encouragement with any kind of writing project, contact Nancy or the Latah Recovery Center.

It’s pretty exciting to see your name on the cover of a book, so imagine the excitement that Trish Clayton is feeling these days. Raised by God: The Autobiography of Patricia Clayton was published this month.

Trish and I met through the Write for You program at the Latah Recovery Center. In 2020 she started each day by writing down a story from her life, not a really long story, maybe a couple of pages at most. Two years and a lot of hard work later, Trish’s life story, Raised by God, is a book that anyone can buy on Amazon.

It begins with her birth and tells a story of intergenerational trauma, multiple addictions, suicide attempts, repeated relapses, and two decades (and counting!) of recovery and sobriety.

The back of the book says, “This is an account of her ride to the bottom and the decades-long process of recovering her life, her sanity, and her relationship with God.”

This is an interesting–and perhaps triggering–read for anyone who has been affected by family trauma and addiction.

For people who want to be more informed about addiction and recovery, Trish’s up-close and personal account shows how nobody decides to become an addict because they think it’s a good idea. She takes us through the thought processes that caused her to relapse over and over. Her story explains how and why it took her so long to “learn what she needed to learn.”

Congratulations, Trish, for the book, but also for your recovery, your life, and your inspiration.

Trish appeared on Recovery Radio in June of 2020. You can listen to that interview here.

In January, Trish and I will be organizing events like book signings and other presentations, so stay tuned for that.

Write for You will be offline for the month of December. Look for a return of weekly writing prompts in January.

Wishing everyone a happy and interesting holiday season.

If you are casting about for a New Year’s resolution, remember this: Writing 30 pages on a Saturday will change your weekend, but writing one page a day will change your life.

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Nancy Casey has lived in Latah County for many years. You can find more of her work here. If you would like some help or encouragement with any kind of writing project, contact Nancy or the Latah Recovery Center.