September is National Recovery Month.
But, it is important to acknowledge those in recovery every month.
Our sons and daughters have worked hard to turn their lives around.
So many are beginning to share what recovery means to them. I hope ideas from others will inspire you to keep moving forward.
Recovery happens every day. If you are struggling, know there is hope for you and your family.
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Here are 50 quotes to celebrate recovery!
1) “We’re all looking at the people around us, the people who have gone before us who have succeeded in recovery and have long-term sobriety and they are an illustration for us of how good it can be.” ~ Scott Stevens
2) “The hopeful part about that is when you do have that help, you will feel better. It still doesn’t make this easy. Nothing makes this easy, but you can make better decisions.” ~ David Sheff
3) “The CRAFT approach, developed by Bob Meyers at U of New Mexico, is one set of important tools that DO work, and it feels great to see families using these strategies and getting results, feeling hopeful again, feeling empowered, getting support, learning to trust themselves again, getting their lives and the lives of their children back.” ~ Jeff Foote, PhD
4) “Recovery is all about using our power to change our beliefs that are based on faulty data.” ~ Kevin McCormack
5) “Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don’t give up.” ~ Anne Lamott
6) “I know, despite all my best efforts and deepest desires, that I can’t guarantee a happy, healthy, and successful path for my children; still, once in a while, I feel the tide touching my toes.” ~ D’Anne Burwell
7) “There is a place in this movement for everybody, whether you just want to share your story at a school, share your story with your neighbor or you want to speak to your legislator about how important supporting addiction recovery is for our communities.” ~ Greg Williams
8) “Positive thoughts and prayer have been the best means available, since the beginning of time, to transform darkness into light.” ~ Cate Stevens
10) “Get in touch with your intuition. The answers are inside if we have a process to be introspective.” ~ Dr. Herby Bell
11) 
Recovery brings freedom.
12) “In recovery, your shape changes. In order for you to fit back into the rest of the puzzle, your life, the other pieces of the puzzle must also change their shapes to accommodate you.” ~ Augusten Burroughs
13) “We’re saying that the way people sustain ongoing, long-term change is through building a better life in ways that matter to them as individuals.” ~ Nicole Kosanke, PhD
14) “Our family is affected by addiction. I will accept it, find strength in God and my recovering community, and go forward.” ~ Libby Cataldi
15) “People spend a lifetime searching for happiness; looking for peace. They chase idle dreams, addictions, religions, even other people, hoping to fill the emptiness that plagues them. The irony is the only place they ever needed to search was within.” ~ Ramona L. Anderson
16) “I sought treatment and began the process of getting myself healthy and in return could make healthier decisions concerning my child. Self-care is critical and must not be neglected.” ~ Sharon LeGore
17) “Incarceration without recovery programming is ineffective for people who are coping with addiction. It’s common sense: Isolating and punishing doesn’t work. Love, inclusion, and help do.” ~ Ryan Hampton
18) “I never thought when I stumbled into the recovery rooms, 25 years ago, that I would be standing in the middle of this life I never could have imagined. I am peaceful. I am free and I am living.” ~ Sober and shameless, Kristina Wandzilak
19) “Yoga is a path that leads to true healing, happiness, and a successful thriving life.” ~ Tommy Rosen
20) “No matter how dark the moment, love and hope are always possible.” ~ George Chakiris
21) 
Take care of yourself first.
22) “Relax. Breathe. It takes time, but there is a great joy to be had in moments of every day. Just remember, you’re learning new steps, a new dance.” ~ Lisa Frederiksen
23) “We honor ourselves when we speak out for recovery. We show the world that recovery matters because it brings hope and peace into the lives of individuals and their loved ones.” ~ Beth Wilson
24) “It is often in the darkest skies that we see the brightest stars.” ~ Richard Evans
25) “There are multiple pathways to addiction recovery, and ALL are cause for celebration!” ~ William L. White
26) Recovery is an ongoing process for both the addict and his or her family. In recovery, there is hope. And hope is a wonderful thing. ~ Dean Dauphinais
27) “Everyday men, women, and adolescents take their first steps on this journey. Dramatic changes do happen.” ~ Joe Herzanek
28) “When people see their behavior as inconsistent with their self-image or goals, their motivation to change can increase.” ~ Carrie Wilkens, PhD
29) “Even in the midst of devastation, something within us always points the way to freedom.” ~Sharon Salzberg
30) “In my experience, and in the experience of most people I have talked with, the family’s recovery often coincides with or precedes the recovery of the addicted individual.” ~ Beverly Conyers
31)
Compassion leads to less addiction.
32) “We must desperately desire recovery with the same passion with which we pursue drugs.” ~ Mary Cook
33) “In a moment of clarity, out of nowhere, I saw that when I believed my thoughts, I suffered, and when I questioned my thoughts, I didn’t suffer, and I have come to see that this is true for every human being. ~ Bryon Katie
34) “You need to be bold enough and strong enough to let your loved one’s recovery unfold or not unfold as it is meant to, not as you want it to.” ~ Carole Bennett
35) With boundaries, it comes down to this, that you don’t support the illness, you support recovery.” ~ Christopher Kennedy Lawford
36) “By changing the way I interact with my drinker, I will help him come to the decision that entering treatment will improve his life.” ~ Robert Meyers, PhD
37) “Something exceptionally positive can come from our experiences. Your contribution to the growing momentum with this cause has great power. Perhaps you’ll reach someone before they have to know the glass monster room at all.” ~ Jody Lamb
38) “A compassionate approach leads to less addiction.” ~ Johann Hari
39) “When women sit in a circle, a sacred space is created to work and create together, listen, learn and share with one another–to get support from one other.” ~ Shelley Richanbach
40) 
Baby steps are key.
41) “Where there is life, there is hope.” ~ Ron Grover
42) “The truth is that almost two-thirds of Americans have friends or family members who have struggled with addiction. ~ William Cope Moyers
43) Don’t let the past steal your present.” –Terri Guillemets
44) “Nobody stays recovered unless the life they have created is more rewarding and satisfying than the one they left behind.” ~ Anne Fletcher
45) “Learn to listen, sit, contain, and just be with your children.” ~ Brad Reedy, PhD
46) “Sometimes you just got to give yourself what you wish someone else would give you.” – Dr. Phil McGraw
47) “Recovery is not simple abstinence. It’s about healing the brain, remembering how to feel, learning how to make good decisions, becoming the kind of person who can engage in healthy relationships, cultivating the willingness to accept help from others, daring to be honest, and opening up to doing.” ~ Debra Jay
48) “It takes a lot of strength to ride the storm of addiction, but it’s worth it.” ~ Maggie Swann
49) “The best gift you can give, besides your unconditional love, is to be strong for them when they are present and stronger for yourself when they are not!” ~ David Cooke
50) “Baby steps are key–baby steps and lots and lots of praise.” ~ Erica Spiegelman
This article has been one of the all-time favorites of readers because it spreads hope for a better tomorrow. I have updated the quotes through the years as well. I hope you find it helpful and inspiring.
What are your thoughts about recovery? Let us know in the comments.
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And check out The Compassion Antidote, which answers many of the questions you may have about your child’s substance use.
