Stephanie Covington Quotes

Trauma is any stressor that occurs in a sudden and forceful way and is experienced as overwhelming.

Part of the process in healing from trauma, like recovering from addiction, is developing connection and support with others.

For some of us, it’s safer to believe there’s something wrong with us than to be aware of the reality of our lives.

Understanding trauma and that we each respond to it differently will help us be supportive and nonjudgmental toward each other.

In many ways, each of us hoped the other would finally twist herself into our individual ideal so we wouldn’t always be so disappointed. My mother was always painting me with the same brushstrokes she used to paint herself, sometimes literally,

THE STEP BEFORE THE STEPS THE JOURNEY THROUGH THE TWELVE STEPS often involves a pre-step—a “step before the Steps,” if you will. In this step before, “we concede to ourselves that we are alcoholic”1 (or suffering from another addiction). If you are not yet ready to concede that addiction is the problem, you might be ready to admit that some areas of your life are chaotic or out of control. For many of us there is a growing awareness that things must change. As this feeling gets stronger, we find we are ready to take this pre-step: to admit that we need help and to accept help when it is offered, even if we didn’t seek it. Then we find ourselves on the recovery journey. The first part of the journey takes us through the Twelve Steps from a woman’s perspective. We will explore how the Steps help us overcome addictions and work to heal and change ourselves, creating the possibility of a new and different life. Part of the surprising truth about recovery is that our ability to use the Twelve Steps and to apply them to other areas of our lives grows as our