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Hi! My name is Meryl Martin. I’m 38 years old and live with my husband and our four pets. I’m here to help you discover that there is a life after trauma and that life can be good after leaving Alcoholics Anonymous. You can stay sober after leaving AA, and your life can even improve! My life has improved immensely since leaving the program in August 2017.

Another purpose of this blog is to help you to see that it is possible to overcome many things. Due to a variety of reasons, by 2015 I had lost my ability to write. While I was able to put up posts or talk to friends online, my actual writing skills were practically gone. Only 10 years earlier my writing was so good that I was able to win awards for my experimental research both as an undergraduate and graduate student. But only a decade later I found myself unable to not only write, but to do basic things like drive due to trauma and psychiatric misdiagnoses.

It has now been three and a half years since my life collapsed due to memory loss. Despite experiencing daily recovered memories, flashbacks, suicidal feelings, dealing with and leaving abusive situations, and dealing with cancer in three of my cats, I have managed to re-teach myself how to write and to do many other things that I had lost the ability to do. I used many techniques to regain my skills and memories including techniques that I had learned while studying Cognitive Psychology. Today I write this blog not just to share information, but so that you can see that in only 3 1/2 years, despite major difficulties in my life, that I have been able to regain and reteach myself how to write. I did this not because I am smart, or motivated, or unique; I did this because I was able to find empowerment within myself. And you can too!

In January of 2019, right around the time that I started this blog, I was diagnosed with a rare and progressive disease called Chronic Active Epstein Barr Viral Syndrome (CAEBV), which basically means that I have active mono for long lengths of time. CAEBV can be fatal if the virus is not arrested. I have been and am doing a lot to keep this condition from progressing, including taking antiviral supplements, dietary supplements, herbal remedies, prescription anti-virals, non-narcotic medications for pain, exercise, and am working on stress relief through mindfulness and other methods. All of these things seem to be slowing down the virus and reducing my viral symptoms. I’ll be talking about my progress with dealing with this condition in my blog. It is not easy to have a condition like this at the age of 38, either, but I am determined to live the best life that I can despite it.

My life has been filled with both horrific and wonderful events and I’m here to write about it all. Along with writing about how my life is today after leaving AA, I’ll be writing about things that I have some manner of knowledge in and telling stories about my life. I am an avid musician, witch, Shaman, Psychic Medium, and Pet Psychic (animal communicator) and will soon be learning Reiki. I also have a Master’s Degree in Experimental Psychology and am well learned in many areas because of my strengths that are due to autism. Please feel free to join me as I journey through life and share stories and knowledge with you along the way!