DONT FORGET UNITY WEEKEND NOV. 26,27,28. 5691 KINGS ISLAND DRIVE. OUTSIDE CINCINNATI I71 NORTH EXIT 25 KINGS MILLS RD.

GCANA PRESENTS ARE WE HAVING FUN YET? (BASIC TEXT PG 53) SPEAKER AND DANCE, WALNUT HILLS BAPTIST CHURCH DEC. 25TH, 7PM TO 12AM. DANCE IS $3.00, REFRESHMENTS FOR SALE.

GCANA ACTIVITIES IS HAVING ITS ANNUAL MARATHON MEETING AT THE WALNUT HILLS BAPTIST CHURCH DEC. 24TH-25TH FROM 9PM TO 8:30AM REFRESHMENTS FOR SALE

SoberRanch 2010 will be the place to hang-out at the International Convention this July in between meetings. There will be Vendors, Music, Food and the Hospitaly Tent. Vendors welcome please check out our web site www.SoberRanch2010.com

Content: Featuring first class Recovery Humor mechanics Steve Johnson and Leon Lilly. IWC fundraiser.All fellowships welcome. 399 N. US 1 Ormond Bch,Fla.32174 Tickets $10..for tickets and information call 386-676-3375

Bessemer Group NA
(1520 2nd Ave. N., Bessemer, AL)
Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser
December 5th 2009
{for}
{6th annual Unity Weekend Camp Out}
{Tannehill State Park}
{March 26, 27 & 28, 2010}
5:30pm: Spaghetti dinner
$5.00 donation
no addict turned away
music, games, & fellowship
8pm: Speaker: “Unity & the 1st Tradition”
For more info. Contact
Chris N. 205-966-7088 or Jennifer M. 205-292-9514

Sat Nov 7th 7pm
Knights of Columbus hall, Edison
$10 admission and spaghetti dinner.
Contestants must register by 7pm.
Hosted by NJ Regional Convention F&E comm.
ITR-  contact Nan011402

Submitted by RT on November 4, 2009

After much anticipation, we have finally found our winner for the ITR “Refer Your Friends Contest”.

AMFDawn hails from West Haven, Connecticut and has earned their prize of a trip to Fort Lauderdale, to hang out in the loft with the ITR team, be treated to dinner and catch a meeting with the gang.

There was tough competition, and when our winner was finally chosen it was still extremely close. We are in the process of of planning the trip for AMFDawn. She has been a proud member of In The Rooms from the beginning and has helped us gain many new members since the beginning of the contest.

Check back after AMFDawn’s visit so you can get a first hand experience of what it’s like to hang with the crew of In The Rooms.

Submitted by DopelessHopeFiend86 on November 4, 2009

…With the toxic concoction that had flown through my body for the past twenty hours, there was a cellular panic of a different order.  The desperate urge for more was well heard by the incumbent resident.  My insatiable body scorned the exhausted liver and kidneys for robbing the precious poison, while they approached total shutdown.  And like every other time, the voices, in unison, grew louder and louder with each pump of my heart:  “MORE METH!… MORE METH!… MORE METH!… MORE METH!”  Like in the final mile of a marathon, my heart struggled to thrust yet one more time….

Lori Stephens’ “Trapped” is a story of desperation, loneliness, and inspiration throughout her 30 year battle with methamphetamines, alcohol, and physical abuse. Stephen’s perfectly paints a picture of how as addicts, we become trapped by our disease, unable to escape the grips of it.

The book follows Stephens as a young 14 year old girl, who was thrown on the street by her own mother left to learn to survive on her own. Left to sleep in a bathroom Stephens  began to follow the road to self destruction. With no parents, no support, and no guidance in life, she quickly turned to drugs as her escape from life.

The description of her battle finds identification of familiar feelings. It is not so much the events she is describing that readers will relate to, but the feelings that come from that. Fear, loneliness, desperation, the feeling of being trapped in a life that you cannot escape, or that you think you can’t.

From the bottom, Stephens rose above her disease, and with the willingness to stay alive, found the courage to seek help. Her resilient effort to overcome her addiction is an inspiration to anyone struggling with life on life’s terms. Whether you can identify with her story or not, readers are sure to find hope in the pages of this book.

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To Purchase the book of the month, click here.

Lori Stephens is a grateful member of InTheRooms. Her profile can be found here.

Submitted by Dawn Maslar-Ranish on November 4, 2009

Want to see a roomful of recovering addicts and alcoholics groan?  Raise your hand in a meeting when they ask for a topic and suggest relationships.  People are more likely to stay for a “traditions” meeting than a “relationships” meeting.  But, why is that?  Why does it seem like people in recovery have such difficulty when it comes to relationships and love?

Before we address that, let’s take a look at love.  In the classic bestseller, Love, Dr. Leo Buscaglia discusses several studies that illustrate the devastating effect that a lack of love can have on our lives.  He concludes his discussion with this summation: “So it seems the infant does not know or understand the subtle dynamics of love but already has such a strong need for it that the lack of it can affect his growth and development and even bring on his death.  This need does not change with adulthood.  In many cases, the need for togetherness and love becomes the major drive and goal of an individual’s life.  It is known that a lack of love is the major cause of severe neuroses and even psychoses in adulthood.”

Wow, I knew love was important, but I didn’t know that a lack of love is the major cause of severe neuroses and even psychoses!  If it is so obvious that we all need love and we all want love, then why do we seem to have such difficulty with it?  It is my intention within this new blog to fully explore this issue.

After 17 years of recovery, I found myself at another emotional bottom, only this time it was around the issue of love.  What I learned from that experience could fill a book.  Err…well, ok … it actually did fill a book.  I wrote the Broken Picker Fixer From Heartbreak to Soulmate as a direct result of my struggles with love in the rooms.

In this blog, I will share with you what I’ve learned through my own personal experience and in my experience of working with others, to find and develop meaningful relationships.  Together we will explore the issues of love while also identifying ways to improve your relationships. In the blogs that follow, we will  take a look at our blocks to love.  And, we will also look at why recovering addicts are biochemically prone to relationship drama and sabotage.  Then, I will provide some easy and simple solutions (ok, maybe simple, but not always easy).  I encourage you to write with questions and comments. What do you want to hear about?  What are you having difficulties with?  We are not alone.  If you are struggling with something, that means many more are struggling with the same thing.  Together we will explore Love In The Rooms.

Love,
Dawn

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Click here to see Dawn’s Blog