Guest Kelly Jo: Acceptance When Life Gets Real — Recovery, Surrender, Presence, and Mortality

Kelly Jo and I met online during the pandemic, when recovery was a major part of both of our lives. In this conversation, she shares where alcoholism took her, what finally led to surrender, and how sobriety allowed her to uncover the person she believes had been there all along.

Years later, serious illness brought her face-to-face with a very different kind of surrender. She describes becoming sick enough to believe she might die, telling God, “You can have me,” and experiencing a profound sense of peace that changed her relationship with death, control, and the future.

We talk about acceptance when reality is genuinely painful, living one moment at a time when the future feels uncertain, faith, mortality, grief, receiving help, allowing ourselves to be loved, and how serious illness can radically change what feels important. Kelly Jo’s message ultimately comes back to presence: stop long enough to see the day, look at the stars, see the people in front of you, and actually experience the life you have.

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Want to work together? I see psychotherapy clients in Florida:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/brian-granneman-naples-fl/1153470

I also offer accountability, coaching, and sober companion services. Send an email: brian@naplesintegratedrecovery.com