Dear Readers,
I hope you’re finding time to be curious about your life.
Taking time to do a review of my life has been an important part of staying sober. It allows me to focus on where I’m at with everything, especially the thoughts and feelings that are shaping how my days unfold. It’s only with awareness and understanding that we can make the necessary adjustments to how we are being and what we are doing. Yesterday marked another milestone in my sober life, five and a half years!! I stopped what I was doing, went to see himself who was working from home, and gave him an enormous hug out of sheer joy and gratitude for having him, sober too, by my side. We both agreed in the moment that giving up alcohol was one of the best things we could have done for our relationship. I would like to recommend that you take some quiet time every now and again to listen to what’s happening inside of you and have the confidence to tackle the things that might be holding you back or impeding your ability to live your best life. Awareness is the key to our transformation.
In my last blog I hinted at a reduction in the regularity of my blog over the coming months as I immerse myself in the second draft of my novel. But I miss you! I miss your uplifting and encouraging feedback that follows my blogs. So, although I’m not writing a long blog today as I don’t have much time, I would like to share with you two reviews: One is a review from a client who has trusted me to support them in their own transformation. This beautiful, courageous client has been sober for over three months now and is reaping all the benefits that sobriety has to offer such as courage, clarity, and calmness. I am truly delighted for my client and very grateful for the review that they wrote for me. It’s amazing to think that I am in Australia, and they are in Europe! We have technology and Microsoft Teams to thank for that.
”I can absolutely recommend Gill as a counsellor. With her wealth of life experience, she was able to help me develop clarity & sense of calmness. Not only does Gill have great empathy and insight into human behaviour/life situations but she really does enjoy helping people. This comes across very strongly in her sessions.” (E.Schnitzer)
From reviews about me to reviews from me, I have just had this published in the Australian-Irish magazine, Tinteán. Do let me know if you have either read the book or seen the movie, I’d love to hear what you thought of it.
“I read an article in the Guardian newspaper recently about a film that had just been nominated for various awards. Its name had a familiar ring to it. It was only when I was later dusting my cluttered bookshelves that it jumped out at me; a book gifted to me back in 2019 when I had just embarked on my sober life, The Outrun by Amy Liptrot. With over five years of sobriety under my own belt, I was ready to delve into this painfully honest memoir of addiction set against the salty winds of the Orkney Islands. I absolutely loved the exhilarating journey that it took me on during the five days that I spent immersed in its sublime writing. The author skilfully illustrates the link between mental health and addiction by drawing you into her world through her awe-inspiring nature writing, inviting you to experience the extreme emotions that so often underpin those desperate urges to escape reality. That’s addiction for you. This book held a mirror to me with its stark reminder of how lucky I’ve been to have stepped back from the precipice that I’d also found myself standing on. There are many precipices in this book, described so beautifully and starkly as the author explores the wilderness of the islands, some of which are uninhabited except for colonies of birds such as kittiwakes, guillemots and shags that make their home there. This book taught me things about birds that I feel all the richer for knowing. Take for example the Arctic tern, it has the longest migration of any bird, travelling some ten thousand miles back from Antarctica to the Orkneys each year. It sees two summers per year and more daylight than any other creature on the planet. What I love most about this book is summed up in this quote, ‘I stopped drinking to do things, rather than to spend my time talking about stopping drinking.’ By the time I’d finished reading this book I felt that I had been on an adventure. I’m looking forward to seeing the film starring the American-born Irish actor, Saoirse Ronan who I understand, for the part, learned to lamb a sheep and build a drystone dyke. She froze herself in the Atlantic and learned what she could about seaweed. It must feel surreal for the author, Amy Liptrot, to see herself portrayed by this talented actor and for the fruits of her labour to be projected onto the big screen. A truly life-affirming outcome of what I know from experience would have once felt impossible.”
That’s it for now folks. Onwards and upwards, as they say. I do have a couple of spots open at the moment if you are interested in trying counselling online. I am happy to have a chat about it. Reach out anytime. In the meantime, my wish is for you to stay curious, have courage, be confident, and find calmness in your life. Love, Gill x
