darryl duke facing our fears

Maybe It Was Meant To Be?

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An excerpt from Chapter 4 of my book. Why I Got Married. I thought I’d post it on my blog after just celebrating 42 years of marriage. It would seem that maybe it was meant to be. But I think not drinking for the last 25 years was a big help. “It just doesn’t make … Read more

How Spiritual Growth Enabled Me to Love Myself

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This is from chapter 8 of my book, Facing Our Fears. I’m coming up on 25 years of continuous sobriety next month and it was good reading this again. It showed me where I was spiritually and emotionally back then. But several years later I would eventually figure out the whole Julia Roberts thing and … Read more

Family

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We don’t get to choose our parents—the moms and dads who are supposed to guide us and love us. And some of us wind up with parents who clearly should never have had children. But, if we can, we should find a way to forgive them. I did this by understanding that my mom and … Read more

Insecurities And Self-Esteem

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It seems that quite a few people today, with apparent insecurities about themselves, act as though they have a very high sense of self-esteem. I first noticed this through the arrogant and often outlandish behaviors some of the teenagers I worked with displayed. Although it is, of course, understandable for young people to act in … Read more

Overcoming Obsessive Thinking

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The word obsess comes from the Latin word obsidere, one meaning of which is “to besiege.” Being someone who has, at times, obsessed over something, I can say that if we’re not careful, thoughts can besiege our minds, take us out of the present moment, and rob us of any enjoyment we might otherwise experience. … Read more