Exploring the River of Addiction: A Metaphor for Recovery
Dear Friend, As the temperatures climb into the 90s, many of us in Asheville are looking for ways to stay cool. At Next Step Recovery, one of our favorite ways is to grab a raft, inner tube, kayak, or canoe and spend a few hours in a mountain river going with the flow or running […]
How Will You Prevent Relapse? The Question of Sustainable Recovery
Dear Friend, I have often heard it said that relapse is a part of recovery. For many people in early recovery, this statement may be more true than not. Especially for someone who tries to stop using on his own or who spends a few weeks in a treatment program and then tries to return […]
Celebrating Our 12th Year of Recovery Support in Amazing Asheville, NC
In May 2018, we celebrated the anniversary of our founding and the beginning of our 12th year supporting men in early recovery from alcohol and substance abuse through highly structured recovery programs that include an intensive outpatient program and a sober living community with three recovery houses. We recently have a conversation between Susan Stader, […]
PIVOTPoint WNC: Powerful Medicine in the Mountains
I landed in Asheville, NC raw. Raw, confused, angry, and terrified. I had checked two large suitcases under the small puddle-jumper. They charged me an extra fee for the 2nd bag. I am grateful that there are no check fees for the mountains of shame and guilt that I had also brought with me on […]
The Beauty of Change: From Precontemplation to Sustainable Recovery
Every fall, nearly 11 million visitors descend upon the town of Asheville to enjoy the legendary fall colors that set our Blue Ridge Mountains ablaze. What is truly interesting is all the work that must happen before the mountain foliage gives the first hint of change. First the leaves stop producing food, then their chlorophyll […]
Dying to Recover From Addiction: Turning the Tide of a Deadly Epidemic
We are in the middle of a national health epidemic, one that takes another life every 19 minutes. men and women are dying at alarming, never before seen rates from drug overdoses. In fact, the death rate from overdoses has now surpassed homicides. Many of these deaths are caused by fentanyl, a derivative of morphine […]
Next Step Staff Stories: Elliot Kimball – Resident to Recovery Case Manager
Elliot’s recovery story I arrived at Next Step on July 24, 2015. It was my mother’s birthday. Two months prior, my active addiction culminated in traumatic fashion. I woke up in a hospital bed, unsure as to how I got there. I soon realized how fortunate it was that the outcome wasn’t substantially worse. That […]
