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Sierra Tucson's Message Board helps alumni stay connected with each other after treatment. If you would like to post a message of hope and encouragement or just say "Hi," please submit your message or response. (All messages are reviewed and approved by Sierra Tucson staff prior to posting.)

S.T.A.R. 21
05/13/2008
Here is a list of alumni attending the Alumni Reunion, August 8-10, 2008, who have given permission to have their information placed on the Message Board.

Helene L. – Fort Lauderdale, FL – November 2007
Herberta S. – Franklin, TN – March 2007
Ann J. – Cape Elizabeth, ME – August 2004
Glenn Z. – Studio City, CA – April 2008
Colleen S. – Colorado Springs, CO – July 1996
Patricia G. – Wickenburg, AZ – May 1993
Denise S. – Novato, CA – September 2002
Will F. – Prescott, AZ – December 2000
Richard D. – Honolulu, HI – April 2008
Eddie M. – Tempe, AZ – December 2007
Katie M. – Tempe, AZ – March 2008
Nancy D. – Phoenix, AZ – September 2002
Tricia E. – Jonestown, TX – November 2004
Richard R. – Atlanta, GA – February 2005

LYNN F.
05/01/2008
To all my ST friends who were with me
from June24—July 24, 2007, I was the
one there learning how to live without
killing myself. ST was the greatest
kickstart to my new life and you all
had a big part in it as well...so one big
THANK YOU, esp. to Kathleen from
Scotland, Stephanie, Sandra, and so
many others I can't remember the
names of. Since my release I have
been faithfully attending all therapy
and psychiatric meetings assigned to
me, sometimes twice a week. I believe
consistency and honesty in my
therapy have helped me progress to
the point where I can look at the
person who came to ST as someone
else. I know why she did what she did
and I can feel compassion for her, but
I know she no longer is me. There are
still days when I'm down, but I've
learned what ropes to throw myself!
All this started with ST, and for that I
will be eternally greatful.
I've read a lot of quotes here and
I'd like to leave my favorite:
"The Truth will set you free."
May we all be on our journey of
seeking the truth and being free.

Brandon M.
04/24/2008
Hello fellow ST Alum. I was lucky enought to find ST in June-July of 2001, a few months shy of my 20th Birthday. I am sure the next B-Day would have been my last. Im truly grateful for my experience and God willing, Jan of 09, will be 7 years clean. If anyone is in the Orlando area or Florid in general, feel free to contact me. 407-257-1382. "Grateful addicts don't use", "Dont use no matter what". Life is Good.

Cynthia P
04/21/2008
Hi Diana,
I miss you and know you are in wonderful hands.
You are in my prayers.
Love,
Cynthia

Erin S
03/24/2008
I just wanted to try and encourage everyone to take advantage of the Monday night chat sessions with Tim and Patty. I know sometimes it's hard to find time in our busy lives...but I have been finding it so helpful. I would hate to so it get cancelled. To me, I have found it just as helpful as attending any meeting I've ever been too. My opinion is that we are not on the road to recovery alone, and we as survivers always have an obligation to those who face the same challanges...no matter what they are. I wanted to add a few more things to the image board that I find helpful.

This above all: to thine own self be true.~William Shakespeare

The past couple of weeks I have been pondering what key phrases were directed at me during my stay at ST. The very first thing that came to my mind was how it seemed like everyone kept saying to me"Trust your intuition, and pay careful attention to your anger" they told me my intution was usually dead on accurate but that at that time, I chose to ignore all the red flags that kept leading me right back to the same types of self-destruction, self sabatoge and toxic relationships. And by far the best advice I was ever given; besides never give up, was that anything, anything in life that is worth fixing is fixable.
Take good care.

John P.
02/22/2008
I was @ ST in Oct of 2006 and it was a great and spiritual time for me. I have continued to remain sober and my life has become a miracle in itself. My family is so much more bonded in so may ways. Anyone in the East Texas are holler at me sometime, Or anyone who just wants to just talk or chat about recovery. andyplm1980@aol.co.

God Bless to all

Marnie M.
02/21/2008
I was admitted to ST in 1988. I had a wonderful counselor by the name of John Gebecce (pardon the spelling). My experience was enlightening and has stayed with me throughout the years. I divorced my husband many years ago and am able to survive on my own. Once a failure, I am now an RN, charge nurse for a hospice unit and is certified in chemotherapy. Who would have thought that this co-dependent introvert who hid her woes in a bottle would become a highly respected professional in her own right.

Carol M
02/20/2008
What a beautiful piece that was shared! To dance with God, who could ask for a better partner. It is one year on the 23rd of this month when I came to Sierra Tuscon a very scared woman. Faith has always been so important to me and I realized that it would assist me through my stay with God by my side. From the very first alumni speaker to my last session with my group before check out, God was there with me. The strength and knowledge that I gained from my stay at ST is immeasurable, "A Miracle Did Happen" for me, and I know who I can lean on when I have to choose a path to take, I put it in God's hands. It has been an unbelievable year for me. My recovery continues, and these past 4 months I have been recovering from a very serious car accident. God gave me a second chance.
To Linda Hampton, Eric, Bob and Barb, Keith Arnold, Jay Gallo and all the wonderful nurses that guided me, I thank you with all my heart. Since my accident I have suffered some memory and retrieval problems, so I do not want to list the nurse's names and leave someone out, but if you remember me, I remember your soothing faces, the smiles, your ongoing support and kindness that you shared. You were there for all, and that takes very special people to continue to give all day, every day. I will never forget my time at ST, and I have found myself sharing my experience with others. Waking up to the beautiful desert setting each day along with the support of my group members- Margo, Mary, Brooke, Jodi, Mark, my roomie Stephie, kept me going. My love to all and best wishes to all alumni that pass through the doors at ST................just embrace God or a higher power of your choice and you can conquer the challenges.
I'm dancing with God...........thank you Sabrina from NYC for sharing your "Wisdom".

Erin S.
02/14/2008
God does not always rid us of the darkness. He joins us in the darkness.~Michael Yaconelli

Love is the enchanted dawn of every heart~Lamartine

I have found that if you love life, life will love you back~Artur Rubenstein

Love seeketh not itself to please, nor for itself hath any care, but for another gives its ease, and builds a heaven in Hell's despair~William Blake

All living beings are connected and ultimately inseperable, and we should learn to listen and communicate with each other~Dalai Lama

Patty R
02/08/2008
Two of my favorites came instantly to mind:

"Change your thoughts and you change your world"
Norman Vincent Peale

and

"I will remember the purpose of prayer is to change my mind not Gods."
Unknown

Sherry D
02/08/2008
It's a sign of mediocrity to express gratitude with moderation. - Roberto Benigni in Newsweek

Belinda C.
02/07/2008
Hello to those from Dec. 05 -Jan.06

Prayer - When life gets to hard to stand...kneel

On living in today: "If you have one foot in yesterday and the other in tomorrow then your just pissing all over today"

Life is about change, sometimes it's painful, sometimes it's beautiful, most of the time.....it's both.

Live One Day At A Time and Make It a Masterpiece!

Karen E
02/07/2008
“It’s all in the pause”

I don’t know if you are a Step/Big Book reader but after I learned this saving sentence, it seemed to appear all throughout our literature. For me, it’s taking that moment…the moment you need for all things and anything to happen. Hopefully, what will happen is the next right thing. Each time I become aware of “the pause” I can take whatever the familiar behavior, trigger, thought or idea that’s torturing me for thr moment and PAUSE. Now during that pause I have learned (via help from my sponsor and a women’s step study group) to recognize the OLD idea (or cemented in my brain problem) ……pause………and change it to a NEW idea (living in the solution). It works very well for me and like a child, repetition, repetition, repetition helps me recognize when I am in it when the sh*! Is around my ankles instead of waiting around to sink!

Adrienne
02/06/2008
What other people think of me is none of my business!

Erin S.
02/06/2008
~people will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel-
Bonnie Jean Wasmund

I WILL SURVIVE
I WILL NEVER GIVE UP

I try to focus on being kind rather than right. When I learned that there is absolutely nothing you can do to change another person's perceptions about you, nor their behavior...I finally felt free to be me. I was so caught up in what everyone thought of me....but you learn to find the people you know will except you for who you are. There is nothing like the feeling of being proud of yourself...instead of looking for it to come from someone else's mouth. You have to learn to love yourself..except your imperfections embrace yourself, and when you fall off track get right back up and keep fighting... I often find the most rewarding work is when I can say, do..just one small thing for someone else out of kindness...and it's so rewarding. I also rely a great deal on my sense of humor...

I visiualize beaches...my dog running thru the grass..the stars in the sky...you can find so much beauty in nature. What ever works for you... trust me...it works. Sometimes I even dance around when noone else is around...dance like noone's watching... and one of my favorite quote's of all time is
"NOBODY CAN MAKE YOUR FEEL INFERIOR WITHOUT YOUR PERMISSION" spoken brilliantly by one of our former first ladies.

To Feel Loved, to belong, to have a place and hear one's dignity and worth often affirmed...these are to the soul, what food is to the body.~Anne Ortlund

I look up to the sky and see the clouds and remember how I saw them disappear...my interpretation of that is that you can do absolutely anything you want if you set your mind to it.
AND I BELIEVE IN MIRACLES...THEY OCCUR EVERY SINGLE SECOND.
i THINK OF OF MY MOST FAVORITE POEM...

WILD GEESE BY MARY OLIVER

You do not have to be good
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert,repenting,
You only have to let the soft animal part of your body love what it loves.
Tell me about your despair,yours and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and and exciting-
over and over announcing your place in the family of things.(to whoever recieves this...this is taken from her book Dream work, page 14...in case you can't print that without permission)

and now these three remain;faith,hope and love.But the greatest of these is love.
1:13;13 Corinthians

Regina D
02/06/2008
Just thought I'd check and see if there was anyone out there from April 2001. What a great experience I had at ST. My Husband & I are coming up on 6 years of sobriety and are so very thankful for walking through the doors of ST.

Ta~Ta from Alaska

Elizabeth D.
02/06/2008
Looking to see if anyone was still around from the Sept/Oct 2004. I am sober in Dallas and just wanted to see if anyone from that time is still around. Would be curious to know what everyone is up to.

Please feel free to contact me lizzydoo18@aol.com

Bill Y.
02/06/2008
"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."
-Mohandas Karamchand (Mahatma) Ghandi

Tim M.
02/05/2008
The words / slogans that help me to stay inspired, encouraged or grounded are:
Beating myself up stops the process of change.

He who trusts in himself is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom is kept safe. ~Proverbs 28:26

The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety.
~ George Mueller

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, who strives valiantly, who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. ~ Teddy Roosevelt

Leif E.
02/02/2008
I was in Sierra Tucson in May of 1989. I now live in South Orange County, CA. I have 3 boys (including a 3 month old), and I have by some amazing gift from the universe remained sober...and mostly sane, for all this time. I have most certainly had moments that, in the past, would have led directly to a worse moment...and I can now reflect on those times and actually remember them.
I had a recent urge to see who may be checking this alumni page that might remember a smart-ass kid that spent a month learning how to live a very different life. If you remember me (and my flourescent hat), I would love to hear from you. My email address is leif@myinfusion.org

Stephanie L
01/25/2008
Hey everyone! In case you don't remember me I am the opera singer from Florida and was at Sierra Tuscon this past August to September. I was so impacted by this time in my life that I am actually home sick for the program and all the people I spent my most important month of my life with. This experience was the start of a rocky yet continually upwards moving road towards success and happiness. I now can sleep and live my life the way a want to. I am rarely plagued by uncontrollable emotional roller coaster rides any longer. What you all have done for me was the BIGGEST gift of my life and I am crying with gratitude as I write this. So thank you for everything and please stay in touch. 239 404 3430 Love, me

Rae T
01/25/2008
If I go to any lengths to stay sober today then I am in a warm, safe place. My serenity level is in place and I am balanced. When my "isms" start kicking in I can go back to my center and direct my thoughts and actions. As I continue practicing the principals of AA in my daily life, God directs me more and more quickly and I don't have to stay in my head very long. It's a really good place to be today.

Donna L.
01/24/2008
Going to any length for a drink as opposed to going to any length for my recovery, for me self-worth and acceptance. Freedom from self-loathing and allowing God to be in control.

Molly F
01/24/2008
I loved the message that you posted Tim. It was a good reminder that I need to continue on the path that I am on and go to any lengths to stay on it. I also really liked what Janet posted. I too have had plenty of things that have happened in my life over the past year and a half that could have sent me back to my old way of living. I certainly would have found time to drink in the past. Instead, I see a
therapist weekly, go to meetings several times a week, pray and spend a few moments of every day focusing on all of the wonderful things that I have in my life. My 30 days at Sierra Tuscon taught me that I can live happy joyous and free even when life is not going exactly how I want it to go.

Geoff
01/24/2008
When I go 'to any lengths' it is so much easier to let go of the outcome. When I do something half-assed, the outcome is surely to be in doubt. When I put my total energy towards the next indicate thing, the outcome doesn't really worry me.
That's the theory. It's hard to muster that energy to go to any length on a regular basis.

Dajon D
01/24/2008
When I go to any lengths without letting outside influences derail what my insides need, I have a better CHANCE at staying SOBER. Trust in God, clean house, and work with others!

Janet S
01/23/2008
Thanks Tim for the nice message. Many
things this past year could have easily
derailed my sobriety and serenity yet none of them did. I just stay a beginner through the toughest of times. Seek help from as many sources as I can think of. Plan to attend as many meetings as
possible, stay in touch with my close
recovery family, go over and above in self care. There is nothing that is worth
loosing my sobriety. I thank God daily
and never forget how bad things were
and how great life is. I have even learned to do all of the above when times are not tough and life is definitely good.
Thanks ST

Adrienne L
01/23/2008
What happened to me is that my recovery became a full-time job. I went to meetings, got a sponsor, changed what I worshipped from food to God and after 6-1/2 years I am an able-bodied, non-handicapped woman with a full and happy life, who knows that she will always be an addict and lets that fact help her manage her life. The boundaries and limits I have learned have increased my enjoyment of every aspect of my life.

amy p
01/23/2008
I will go to any length to get to a meeting because I know my recovery depends on it. I always hear what I need to hear,and afterwards I am filled with gratitude knowing God's will was done, and I was where I needed to be.

Tim M.
01/23/2008
What happens when I am willing to go to any lengths by not letting the outside influences derail what the inside needs? I share my truth no matter who is at the meeting. I am going to keep my therapy appointment come hell or high water. I will choose to attend the meeting even thou I see a person walking from their car to the meeting that I would rather not run into. I will shut off my computer & leave the office to do things that support my recovery. Even when it is 15 degrees below zero outside, I will bundle up at take the walk my body needs. I make calls to recovery friends at anytime of the day when I need support.

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