February 2020

Special Event: Chat with Laura McKowen

On February 23, 2020 WFS Online hosted a chat with Laura McKowen, author of We Are The Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life

One of the latest recovery books to hit bookstore shelves is We Are The Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life, written by Laura McKowen, and the women of WFS are discussing it! The book immediately found its place among the top hardcover books sold and was hailed as one of the year’s most courageous and candid memoirs.

Laura’s story accurately captures the shame and confusion of addiction, before and during sobriety, but her words also carry hope. She honestly describes her own struggles, but goes beyond her desire to drink, into a powerful analysis of how we grow and relate to others, and ultimately to ourselves, once we choose recovery. So much of her story aligned with the WFS Acceptance Statements that it seemed worthy of a group read and online discussion.

The WFS response to Laura’s text has been overwhelming. Women from the program served as online facilitators for discussion on several chapters each week. By responding to, and reflecting on the questions posed, women explored different aspects of their own sobriety. This encouraged them to relate to the author’s journey, while also making connections to the WFS New Life Program. To demonstrate the magnitude of this book study, one recent prompt garnered 43 replies and 525 views, clearly showing that the discussion is timely and worthwhile. It was great having the opportunity to chat with Laura, with 55 women attending!

WFS Annual Conference

Registration Opens March 1st

Thanks to a diversity of housing options at Hamline University, we were able to lower our most economical registration rate by $25! Register before March 31st to save even more with our Early Bird Discount of $20.

                                              2 nights               3 nights
Resident Hall Lodging
Double room                            $275                     $325
Single room                              $350                     $420
Apartment Lodging
Double Room                           $350                     $420
Single Room                             $430                     $520
Day Pass (No Lodging)          $200                     $220

Work scholarships are available!
Application period begins March 1st.

Workshops Announced

We had so many great applications, we had to open up an additional breakout period on Saturday afternoon! In addition to 3 large group sessions, dive deeper into personal growth through your choice of 4 smaller group workshops.

Teddy Bear Challenge

A few years ago, a loved member and chat leader, TeddyBear Cuddle (TBC) started the Teddy Bear Challenge. Leading up to the WFS Annual Conference, through her generosity, she donated $1,000 and challenged the membership to dig deep and help WFS by donating as well. And those $5, $10, and $20 donations from the membership added up. In 2019, the Teddy Bear Challenge raised $15,739 from 140 donors, including 6 generous donations of $1,000!

Let’s hit $16,000 this year!

A Teddy Bear to hug and love… and in honor of our amazing volunteer BunnyH, who has taken over running the Challenge, we are adding bunnies to the Class of 2020!

Donors to the Teddy Bear Challenge are eligible for a drawing of the teddy bears and bunnies!* The first drawing will come from the donors who are recorded by Sunday, June 7, 2020. Donors who also attend the Conference on June 12 – 14, 2020, in St Paul, MN, will have a second chance in a drawing of the last 3 stuffed animals.

Donate to the Teddy Bear Challenge Now!

There are many ways to volunteer your time in the campaign… you can stuff an animal, help us with communications, spread the word by being part of our cheer squad, or help setup at conference. Contact BunnyH on the WFS Forum or [email protected] if you are enthusiastically ready to be a volunteer!  Detailed instructions will be provided!

*No donation necessary to win. For complete drawing rules, go to the TBC donation page.

Save the Date

SoberSoul Recovery Podcast
March 16th, 2020
Listen in as Adrienne Miller, WFS President/CEO, and Lynn Matti, SoberSoul Recovery Podcast host, chat about the New Life Program and the upcoming Annual Weekend Conference. Lynn is one of this year’s Featured Presenters at the conference and will be giving the keynote address on Saturday morning.

Cigna Substance Use Disorders Series
Self-Imaging in Recovery with Adrienne Miller, WFS President/CEO
March 18th, 2020 at 1:00 – 2:00 pm EST
Who am I now that I’m sober? Due to the impact of addiction on multiple areas of life, many people with a substance use disorder feel a strong loss of identity when they try to make changes to their substance use. We will explore why this is so, and share some simple methods to help the recovering person redefine their self-image to one of an empowered, capable, and sober individual.

Personal Stories

from the WFS Blog

Today Though
This is HUGE for me – putting myself out here!  One thing you need to know is that I’m a secret addict. My husband knows, my mom knows and my dealer knows.  That’s about the extent of it. I was in control until I wasn’t. It’s been all downhill from there…
Read More

This Could Have Been Me

New Meetings

Jacksonville, FL: Tuesdays – 7 pm, [email protected]

Williamsport, PA: Wednesdays – 5:30 pm, [email protected]

London, ON: Saturdays – 10:00 am, [email protected]