In The Mix
Where I share a collection of things and topics of interest I am reading, listening to or talking about
Welcome to “In The Mix” where I share what has piqued my curiosity and interest, heard through the grapevine or landed in my lap every two weeks (sometimes every week). A relevant curation of books, articles, websites, events, podcasts and such that might interest you too! I am a voracious & curious reader, explorer of innovation and thought leadership.
I’ve mentioned Dr. Gabor Mate’s new book, The Myth of Normal, and his work here previously and I’ve been popping in on all the podcasts he’s being making the rounds on. This week I listened to Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown with Dr. Mate. She was “Blossom” back in the day and now she’s a PHD neuroscientist and talks about mental health and culture of stress on her podcast. There’s a great discussion about the stress of culture on parents and the contribution to addiction and other diseases.
The Partnership to End Addiction released this doc, Untreated & Unheard, this week. Most of it won’t be news to any of you because you’re having a direct experience of the The Addiction Crisis in America, but what I thought was well done was the calling out of the systemic failures to properly treat substance use and the outcomes of those failures. While families often carry the weight of blame for SUD, the medical system, treatment system and social system has failed to meet the disease of addiction with a coordinated response. That’s changing but not nearly fast enough. It features three mothers, and Dr. Nora Volkov, The Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. (NIDA). I wrote about systemic failure in my recently published ebook, The Lay of The Land. I feel like we are close to the tipping point into the proper response for all people impacted by substances. The work I do now is for the mothers who have been traumatized by the system failures. Tell me your story and I’ll tell you all the ways you were failed.
I just finished Nora McInerny’s book, Bad Vibes Only, and Other Things I Bring to The Table. I loved it. She’s a good storyteller. I appreciate writers who are honest about life being both challenging and beautiful. We need to be able to not sugar coat everything.
I also loved Nadia Bolz-Weber’s Substack column, Reaching Past Your Past. this week. She’s a sober, tattooed, author, minister and theologian. In her own words, “I write and speak about my personal failings, addiction, grace, faith, and really whatever the hell else I want to. ”
The holidays are usually the hardest for families impacted by addiction. I know for me, there was an extra layer of distress because I knew I wasn’t going to have the holiday I wanted. The one where I wasn’t feeling hyper vigilant and afraid for my kid. The one where my loved ones were present and healthy and we could interact without the thread of fear or chaos running through the day. This is when we need to tend to our body the most. Make our nourishment and care a priority and not allow ourselves to get depleted. Sometimes we have to say no to things for self preservation and that’s ok. Before it all gets underway, take some time to plan “how I am going to take care of myself” during the holidays so your self care doesn’t come last. In The Lay of The Land, I wrote about “taking care of yourself,” in ways that are nourshing. You can order it for half off using the coupon code: recoverthemother. You can read the whole book in less than an hour.
Speaking of holidays, I thought this instagram Thanksgiving leftovers tip from @brunchwithbabs was genius. You can find me on instagram @thekindinterventionist
Sending you all so much love.
Take Care,
Shelly