by Sherrie Cassel I know my son was in a tremendous amount of pain when he died, emotional, physical, and spiritual. His marriage had ended, and he was wounded to the marrow of his soul. His problematic childhood didn’t help either. He chose alcohol, LSD, meth, marijuana, and finally heroin to stop the pain, butContinue reading “Fearless Moral Inventory”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Desert Perspective
By Sherrie Cassel Funny what we remember. Sometimes we remember things to the minutest detail and other times we miss the elephant in the room, no matter how many times we ram into its tusks. I’m listening to the Eagles, “Take it Easy”, and about the band’s time in Winslow, AZ. I’m not aware ofContinue reading “Desert Perspective”
Mother’s Day
by Sherrie Cassel I’m remarkably calm this Mother’s Day Eve. I know it’s coming. I’ve known. My life is punctuated by special days I can no longer celebrate with my son, and sometimes those days tear me up, and other times, I’m as calm as I am today. I no longer melt down when someoneContinue reading “Mother’s Day”
Brilliant!!!
Talkin’ about a revolution; sounds like a whisper. ~Tracy Chapman That’s how the Light gets in By Sherrie Cassel I love watching the Light go on in others’ eyes. There’s a monosecond when a person becomes self-aware, at once exhilarated and exposed; it’s glorious and terrifying. I just finished reading Stephanie Foo’s WHAT MY BONESContinue reading “Brilliant!!!”
Note to Self
By Sherrie Cassel Everything I cherish most in this world is in our home tonight. My son’s presence and absence fill the empty space between all that he loved most, the young man asleep on our couch, his son – and me, my son’s mother. My husband is singing a Flying Burrito Brothers’ song. TheContinue reading “Note to Self”
Grief and Graduation Blues
By Sherrie Cassel Grief is funny; it ebbs and flows in and out of our awareness. Today I’m starkly aware I’m a woman, a parent, who has lost a child, flesh of my flesh, bone of my bone. Some days I feel the separation – just like the moment he was yanked from my body.Continue reading “Grief and Graduation Blues”
Family Trauma and Posttraumatic Growth
By Sherrie Cassel There was an article I read in ~Nature~, one hundred years ago that discussed some research that was done with plants. One plant was nurtured and loved, taken care of with all its needs met. A different plant had all its physical needs managed, water, sun, foodplant, the difference, however, was theContinue reading “Family Trauma and Posttraumatic Growth”
Easter Vigil
By Sherrie Cassel Christians all over the globe are keeping vigil over the tomb of Jesus, their Savior, who will shock them in the morning with a magic trick so potent, its effects have survived two millennia and through many iterations. The Gospel story speaks to them, and because of my own familiarity with theContinue reading “Easter Vigil”
Psych Meds and Other Coping Strategies
By Sherrie Cassel This morning, my husband and I were listening to John Prine, a sage intellectual with just enough hick to make him truly entertaining with his similes and his metaphors for cheatin’, heartbreak, and a good shot of whiskey. He has passed away, but he left a musical legacy behind that is rightContinue reading “Psych Meds and Other Coping Strategies”
Twelve Stepping Baristas at Al Anon Meetings and the Fourth Step
By Sherrie Ann Cassel The coffee at Al Anon meetings is always perfect; it’s like those whose service task is making coffee for the meeting have a gift for concocting the magic elixir that keeps one awake until her voice shakes as she shares her angst about her addicted loved one. Al Anon did saveContinue reading “Twelve Stepping Baristas at Al Anon Meetings and the Fourth Step”
Grief to Gratitude 