Being weak is actually being strong

by Lisa Kohn | Mar 11, 2019 | Recovery

I’ve written before about the incredible push I have to be “strong.” To never need help. To not falter. To be able to get through anything and do anything no matter what. I keep learning that that is a false sense of strong. I’m moving through a (hopefully) mild...

I like to break the rules

by Lisa Kohn | Mar 4, 2019 | Recovery

I had coffee with a dear friend this morning. I remember when I told her, years ago when I was first getting to know her, that I was a rule follower. “No one,” she replied, “no one, from just meeting you, from the outside, would ever know that.” I probably don’t look...

Let that shit go

by Lisa Kohn | Feb 25, 2019 | Resilience

When I crawled into Al-Anon decades ago, they offered me a mantra, “Let go and let god.” It saved my mind, soul, and life. I learned to turn over just about everything…well to start to turn over just about everything. I was (and can still be) damn good at letting go...

I’m no longer calling him the Messiah

by Lisa Kohn | Feb 18, 2019 | My Story

There’s a line I use when I describe a particularly scarring moment in my adolescence – “The Messiah said I was bad.” In many ways this accurately captures what happened. A dear friend of mine was caught in a desperate situation, and in order to protect herself – to...

If you’re going to relax, go all in

by Lisa Kohn | Feb 11, 2019 | Recovery

Some people might say I’m an all or nothing person. Some people might be right. Generally, when I commit myself to something, I go all in. I do very little halfway. Perhaps it’s my rampant perfectionism (remember, my brother once told me, “You even try to do...