The other day I discovered an outside faucet leaking and looked for someone on my block to help figure out how to stop the running water. Obviously something was broken since the water would not turn off. Luckily, there was a pool man at the neighbors house. I figured since he works with water he might have a way to band-aid it until I could get a plumber. After explaining the dilemma, he asked, "Do you have a wrench?" I shrugged, "I don’t know where it is if we do." "Do you have any duct tape?" "No." "Any rope?" "No, but we have electrical tape." How would that help, I wondered. He laughed when I said, "the joke around here is, if it can’t be fixed with a Titelist golf club, we call a professional."

This good samaritan went to his truck and came back with elastic banding from a backpack and tightened it around the faucet creating a temporary stop to the leak, (the electrical tape came in handy too), then I called the pro. We found a creative solution to a temporary problem—and even without the right tools, it got me through until it could be repaired correctly.

How does this relate to recovery? Sometimes we have use whatever is in front of us and become innovative and creative when life and its little events are closing in on us. We need to find something to get us through until we can find a solution.

A friend tells a story about a time when he was facing what seemed like an insurmountable problem, needing to talk it out, he got out his enormous phone list of people in recovery. Though he was unable to reach anyone at first, he just kept dialing numbers until someone finally answered. The best part of the story is by the time his call for help was answered, he couldn’t remember what the problem was!

It’s always important we remember to reach into our recovery toolbox. Fill it with prayer, phone numbers, patience, meeting lists and perseverance. When it comes to the right tools for recovery—I’m happy to say my toolbox is overflowing. As for the one for "do it yourself" projects, it needs me to spend a few hours at Home Depot.

Recovery and Nutrition

This month’s feature article underlines the importance of nutrition in recovery. While it may not always be in the forefront of our minds, proper nutrition plays a vital role in our health and well being. On page 10 you’ll find a recommended recovery eating plan from our feature author, Lisa MacDonald. Then take a look at your diet and eating habits and compare.

Elsewhere in this issue, Debra Kaplan discusses the complexities of PTSD and Sarah Jenkin’s article on Body Talk explores how our bodies store trauma explaining the need to work through the pains of the past in order to move through and forward in life.

Thank you to Ron Hunsicker for sharing his views on the needs of the many people in this country struggling with addiction. The question remains, "What will it take for us to increase the research dollars allocated to researching both the brain components of this disease and the best treatment approaches to the disease so that these 23 million persons affected have a chance at long term recovery?"

Enjoy the entire issue and enjoy the beginnings of summer. And don’t forget to mark your calendar for the 5th Annual Art of Recovery Expo on September 19^th.