About

I am making a film about families and recovery with a few friends that are passionate about changing the way addiction is treated in the family system and advocating for a compassionate response to a highly stigmatized health condition.

“The Family Recovery Documentary” (working title) transforms outdated practices, empowering families on their recovery journey with compassionate, inspirational stories and expert insights.

No more tough love and rock bottom responses. What saves peoples lives and helps them get well begins with knowledge, unconditional positive regard, and an evidence based compassionate response.

This column started as “Recover The Mother” as a column covering topics related to mothers of children, young & adult, impacted by substance use, in active addiction and in recovery. Since inception, I’ve been running a research project with the mothers and the impact of addiction in a family on mothers. You can participate here.

I started Recover The Mother because mothers can be agents of change in the family system. Families deserve better, more concise information & education about addiction and recovery. They need a space that speaks directly to their true nature, their intuition and their instincts without all the shame, blame, guilt, chaos & stigma. They need action steps for themselves & their families. They need healing from the trauma of active addiction and the systems of harm that perpetuate it.

I am the Executive Director of The Chris Atwood Foundation, Co-Founder & Creator of The Family Recovery Conference and The Family-Rx, the first ever recovery conference specifically for families impacted by substance use and addiction. I am glad you’re here.

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About Shelly

First and foremost I am Mother to three fascinating humans & a big black lab. My son has been in recovery for eight+ years, starting when he was 22 at the height of the opioid crisis. It was a fierce battle for his life prior to him recovering. When my therapist told me that recovery in my family had to start with my son, I replied, “I think it has to start with me.” I decided I’d start where I was and devote myself to the rigorous work of recovery from the trauma & impact of addiction, then made a commitment to changing the way addiction was treated in my family and creating an environment that would support recovery. I began practicing harm reduction with my son before I even knew what that was. Beth Macy feature my story of a radical response in her book, Raising Lazarus.

For more than a decade I’ve studied addiction, brain science, mental health care, addiction policy, treatment and recovery oriented systems of care, harm reduction and the many pathways of recovery. Since 2015, I’ve helped hundreds of families in crisis with intervention and guidance and more than 1000 mothers with coaching, resources and education.

I know that a mother’s love, influence, instincts and bonds are powerful. When a mother is well educated and well supported her influence is compelling. Relationships are powerful.

I am also the Executive Director for a local non-profit providing free harm reduction and peer support services to individuals and their families. I facilitate a jail based family program and speak at national conferences. Google once asked me what I thought they could do to better help families impacted by addiction and in recovery. I moved them with story and science the way mothers do.

I love to interrogate systems, find solutions to complex issues and write.

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I hope you’ll find comfort, healing, strength, community and actionable solutions here.

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A forward thinking, paradigm shifting, emotional, spiritual wellness column for the for the Mothers of children, young and adult with substance use/addiction or in recovery.