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Mom to Mom: I’m Not Ashamed
My child dreamed of becoming a firefighter, a fisherman, and a marine biologist when he grew up. Becoming an addict was not on his list. I know the child who dreamed those dreams and he is a child to...
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Mom to Mom: Thanksgiving–Filling Not Stuffing
When my boys were little, they hovered about the kitchen on Thanksgiving morning, eager to get started with stuffing the turkey. We tied on aprons, washed our hands, pushed step stools over to the...
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Mom to Mom Blog: Just the Two of Us
Our wedding was beautiful and so were the vows. Till death do us part was our promise. But our child’s addiction is like a chainsaw, hacking away at our union–cutting apart a bond meant to last...
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Mom to Mom: Stolen From Me
My child has been stolen from me. He’s even been stolen from himself —The Addict has whisked away my son’s very essence. I don’t know if I will ever get him back. I know what he’s like, the monstrous...
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Mom To Mom–Facing The Holidays When Your Child Is Addicted
“All I want for Christmas this year is my son back from the addict who stole him, but that’s not a gift I expect to find under the tree this year. Instead, I will wrap myself up in the peace of the...
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Mom to Mom Blog: Judged
My child became an addict in his teens, lured to drugs and alcohol by a culture that glorifies substance use–the same culture that now, so ignorantly and harshly, passes judgment on him. And me. I am...
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Mom to Mom Blog: My Child’s Addiction Feels Like War
In the contours of his man-face, I still see my own son. The jaw, the nose, the spacing of his eyes. But I know not to be fooled by the familiar façade: I already know there’s somebody else who’s...
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Mom to Mom: A Dandelion Movement
FLOWER POWER I am the mom of a child suffering with the disease of addiction. And I am part of a movement — a movement of moms shedding their shame and scattering seeds of truth. You see, I see a...
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Mom to Mom: The Ghost
There was a ghost living in our house when my youngest child was just a kid, hovering over every bit of his life as he was growing up. The ghost was a character in my youngest son’s story; it was just...
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Mom to Mom: Where Love and Addiction Meet
A Mom to Mom Retreat—Please Join Me! June 22-24, 2018 Center City, Minnesota We have the power to overpower the destruction that addiction spreads. Moms vs Addiction We may often feel fragile, but...
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MinnPost Interview with Author Sandra Swenson
“When I started to speak up about addiction I realized that I’m telling the addiction, ‘I’m fighting you for the sake of my son,’ ” Swenson said. Speaking up is noisy, she said, but that’s part of the...
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Mom to Mom: Before My Child Was an Addict
Before my son was an addict, he was a child. My child. But he could have been anyone’s child. Before my son was an addict, he liked to joke around, give big hugs, and work hard and play harder....
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Mom to Mom: Self-Respect
When my kids used to say, “Mom yelled at me,” what they meant was that I had told them to clean their rooms, or to say “please” and “thank you,” or to obey some other parental directive they didn’t...
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Mother’s Day: Together We Are Stronger
Finding Strength as a Mother of an Addicted Child From One Mom to Another If you have a child struggling with addiction – whether or not they’re in recovery – you undoubtedly understand the pain that...
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Mother’s Day–Sending Hugs and Dandelion Wishes
Mother’s Day: Together We Are Stronger As moms living in the place where love and addiction meet, our hearts are always confused and hurting—but as Mother’s Day nears, our tender hearts seem to...
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Mom to Mom: The Land of Tears
I’ve lived for years in the land of tears—and there’s no escape from the sadness. By day, I retreat, pushing other people away, and I roam the dark house every night. I cry, I pull myself together,...
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Mom to Mom: Where Love and Addiction Meet
The first time my child reached his dimpled little hand out for mine, I was there. And I’ve tried to be there every time he’s reached out to me–and even when he hasn’t–ever since. Until, that is, my...
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Staying Dandelion Strong. ‘Readings for Moms of Addicts’. A New App.
Exciting News! Readings for Moms of Addicts App READINGS FOR MOMS OF ADDICTS Now available in Apple and Google/Android app stores! As moms with addicted children, we may often feel fragile, but we are...
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Mom to Mom: Thanksgiving (when your child is addicted)—Filling Not Stuffing
Mom to Mom: Thanksgiving (when your child is addicted)—Filling Not Stuffing When my boys were little, they hovered about the kitchen on Thanksgiving morning, eager to get started with stuffing the...
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Mom to Mom: The Hole In My Life Where My Child Should Be
Melancolie–created by Albert György The Hole In My Life Where My Child Should Be I have the power. The power to change the way I react to the disease of addiction. The power to stop its destructive...
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