“Don’t die with the music still in you.” – Rosemary O’Connor In this chapter of O’Connor’s self-help book, Rosemary examines the concept of living life in recovery. We don’t get clean or sober to live in a bubble or to just stay frozen in time. While in our addiction, we never thought about the

  I’m so honored to have had the opportunity to interview Jennifer Matesa for The Cafe’s first ever podcast. We talk about her upcoming book which tackles sexuality and sexual empowerment in recovery. A must read for all recovering people! Pre-order her book here “Sex In Recovery is a work long overdue. In a frank,

A single mirrored drop of water sails through thick coastal air. A single drop expelled from heavy gray clouds, joins a school of like-minded peers free falling. A single drop swan dives, splatters against my windshield. Pushed aside by the wiper, like a finger washing tears from his cheek. The vent blows cool air in

Sexual trauma and co-dependency….finding the connection will be interesting. In Rosemary O’Connor’s book about taking care of ourselves in order to take care of our kids, she discusses two topics that go to the core of our self-esteem. Trauma consists of a deeply distressing or disturbing experience and it affects us on all levels:  physical,

    I’ve got this cat – his name is Bastian. A fifteen-year-old, stoic, Merlin-type with a childlike need for affection. A snowball of soft, pure-white fluff with spots of light gray like continents. His eyes are celestite marbles that vibrate when looking at you. Bounce side to side like one of those alarm clocks

Carolyn Elliott is my latest mentor and probably the most bullshit free teacher I’ve ever had. She has taught me the essence of being fearless and thorough, which is spoken about often in the recovery world, but rarely have I seen it……until now. This exquisite woman doesn’t just sparkle, she sizzles. When I came across

David Ian Rose is ridiculously talented. This is his second classical piece at The Cafe. I wish we had something of his to feature everyday.   https://soundcloud.com/davidrosecomposer/baroque-strings-flute-timpani-david-ian-rose  

Okay, this topic needed to be discussed on its own because how women deal with anger is enough to make someone’s blood boil. On this topic, my experience and Rosemary’s are in unison. Even our solution is similar; however, the length of time needed to solve the issue was significantly different.  The bottom line is:

Did you know, art, was amongst the first forms of communication between human kind. You did, Oh, well that is okay then. Art for me, my art, is very much what others see in it, not what I say it is. Anyway, my name is Adrian Scanlon aka NigelDaniel. NigelDaniel is my handle for art

  I’d address you by name but you have so many so I’ll just call you booze. When I first met you, you made me feel loved, secure and at peace. You lent me your strength. Your charm rubbed off on me. I felt like a better man when I embraced you. You had me