Addiction Recovery Story #20, Beach Rose/Salt-Spray Rose: Slip-sliding, Clinging to the Dunes

I slipped with the food at 12:30 a.m., stumbling down the old pine stairs to the kitchen, flicking on the light, opening the fridge. I couldn’t peacefully rest my head — and mind. Writing this should help me. It is #20 in the series about sugar and overeating addiction started January 31.

Chatham Lighthouse Beach, Monday, August 10, 2020, 7:02 p.m. and Wellfleet, Friday, August 7, 2020, 1:15 p.m.

Exposed roots and seaside plants on the dunes in Eastham, Cape Cod National Seashore, Saturday, August 1, 2020 at 7:16 p.m. Photos by Alice Garbarini Hurley.

I’d like to keep this short, from my perch on this green sleeper sofa (folded up in sofa, not sleeper, position).

I should finish an essay I’ve been assigned to write — and get paid for — about me and my Sis. It can be hard to earn significant money here on Medium; you might spend five hours writing and score 58 cents. (I did finally craft and submit the young oyster farmer story pitch to a magazine; waiting to hear back.)

Writing about my addiction recovery calls to me. It calls to me because I try to report it in real time. I want to provide an honest-to-God account of moving through, progressing. Making my way. Finding my true heart and my true self again — I trust others will relate to a recovery journey, too.