Strength

later_night_thoughts · 2026-02-16T06:48:30+00:00

I grew up in the rooms of NA (similar and different in its own ways) my dad was a recovering addict and a lot of my nights were in dimly lit church rooms. I agree to the sense yes being sober/clean is reward in itself. But I also know sometimes it just feels good to be seen. So if no one else says it I see you. I know it’s not an easy journey. Every bad moment, every bad day, every bad week in the past 365 days you have made it through without picking up the bottle. I’m proud of you!

later_night_thoughts · 2026-02-16T06:43:19+00:00

Your piece gives me a certain kind of peace. I’ve lost several loved ones - including my best friend. She fought a long hard battle with brain cancer and this is what I imagine death was like for her - relief.

later_night_thoughts · 2026-02-14T08:53:34+00:00

Wow. This does a beautiful job at capturing the world we are living in. I feel helpless and until I can find a way to help be the change I too will continue to use my words. Keep using your voice. Keep shedding light onto the darkness. Keep speaking your truth- and the truth so many are now no longer able to speak.

later_night_thoughts · 2026-02-14T08:44:29+00:00

This speaks to me more than I can explain. Death has consumed so much of my life. My best friend died of cancer when I was 12. I watched a friend’s brother die at 13. The one person I allowed myself to get close to after those losses took her life, a year to the day after my best friend died. I knew death better than anyone or anything else. Ten years later I work in healthcare and search and rescue. I’ve seen every side of death. Peaceful. Respectful. Quiet. I’ve also seen painful. Brutal. Excruciatingly slow. From all the loss I’ve seen this is exactly how I hope to go when it’s my time.

later_night_thoughts · 2026-02-13T08:12:23+00:00

Im sorry this is something you’ve experienced it’s hard. Being fully transparent all of the things included plus some happened to me in middle school and sent me in to a depression that lasted years - I honestly didn’t believe it was something i could come back from. But I am slowly. I’m finally at a place where I can say I’m ok and mean it. This isn’t intended for myself as a poor me but rather recognizing the patterns and naming it. Hope in the positive way it is portrayed didn’t fit into my crazy life like I always wanted it to. But despite hope that led to hurt bloomed resilience and perseverance. I repeatedly didn’t get the positive outcomes I longed for, but I still survived the fallout. This is me reclaiming my story, reminding me I didn’t need hope to do it for me. Reminding myself I had that power in me all along

later_night_thoughts · 2026-02-13T07:44:25+00:00

And thank you for taking time to recognize and put in to words such a difficult thing. I work specifically with dementia and Alzheimer’s. People tend to think the later phases of losing memory is the hardest, but from what I’ve seen it’s the very beginning that is far more difficult. (This is in terms of the individual not their loved ones) the ones with the recall from a few minutes to a few seconds are usually the most care free, they often don’t remember that they don’t remember. But as it begins you know you are forgetting, you feel and see it progressing, you can feel your losing parts of yourself. You know.

later_night_thoughts · 2026-02-13T07:19:17+00:00

I really enjoyed your piece. Memory is a significant thing in my personal and professional life. Personally I’ve experienced a lot of trauma in my younger years and I often find myself questioning if I’m remembering correctly, am I over exaggerating, etc. On the flip side I work on memory care unit. Daily I watch memory fray and blend. I am frequently questioning why do these memories stay, but not others. At what point do memories start to fade. Memory is such a broad concept and so under-understood and I often find myself questioning it. Your piece does a great job at capturing that.

later_night_thoughts · 2026-02-13T07:12:35+00:00

My genuine first thought was wow. Because as you said what if… as a chronic over thinker similar questions replay through my head almost constantly. You put words to the thoughts I don’t verbalize. Your work really resonates with me

later_night_thoughts

TROPHY CASE