I don't want Roses and Posies When I Die (Working the 12 Steps in Conjunction with Cancer)

I don't want Roses and Posies When I Die (Working the 12 Steps in Conjunction with Cancer)

Susie was a contributor and powerful inspiration to the daily meditation book, Day By Day, put out by Hazelden. She was active in several 12 Step programs and the people she worked with, family, and friends absolutely adored her. In addition, she helped me, along with many other young people, draft the book Young, Sober, & Free. Her story appears on page 95 of the first edition. Hearing that she had breast cancer sent shock waves through the group of people in recovery who attributed their recovery to the work she did with them. Many of us made it a point to spend time with her and the family as she went through the last years of her recovery. Father Joseph Martin (from Father Martin's Ashley) sent her a letter and dedicated a mass to her. She actually improved after that dedicated mass in her name--but in the end--the hit to her health pushed her over the edge and she died quietly at age 45 with 25 years clean and sober.

However, her last days were so filled with wisdom, joy and good sense that her insight into working the 12 steps in conjunction with cancer needed to be shared. If you have cancer or know someone who does, this booklet is inspirational and thought provoking. I put together this interview in memory of Sue's ever-loving service work with the sickest of the sick—the ones everyone else caste away. she reached people that few of us could and spread recovery among street people that you would never guess could make recovery.

Susie demanded that each of us meet every situation with dignity and respect. Although not with us in body, she will live forever in our hearts and sobriety through the pages of "Day By Day" and "Young, Sober, & Free. " ~Shelly M.