First Step Consultation – Brian Farr M.S. in Ed., C.A.S.A.C.

Another Easter season has come and gone and my family and I are not attending any church services with regularity.  This disturbs me to some extent.  It had been a goal of mine this year to find a place of organized religion that I felt comfortable with and to begin attending services as a family.  […]

For those of you who do not know “and I find it extremely hard to believe that any of you would not know,” April 1st of each year is the official start of trout fishing season in New York State.  Having grown up in and around a family business that was based on fishing, this […]

I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one cheerful face on the earth. Whether I shall ever be better I can not tell; I awfully forebode I shall not. To remain as I am is impossible; I must […]

By my senior year of high school, I had seen the movie “Easy Rider” with Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper and Jack Nickalaus numerous times.  Several of my friends and I had started a cult following of types for the film, and we discussed various aspects of it often and in detail.  I even got the […]

When I was growing up, my mother never missed a chance to bust out the decorations and gussy up our house for every single holiday that came down the line.  The “big” ones were no surprise – Christmas, Halloween, and Easter – those seemed to warrant the time and effort spent on breaking out the […]

We should have set up the tent first.  More accurately, I should have set it up.  In the back yard.  Before we were here, in this moment, and needed it.  Such lack of planning and complete inability to look into the future is a hallmark of my personality.  A quirk – a habit – part […]

    Rage.  White hot heart pounding fists clenched teeth grinding head screaming ready to attack or scream at any minute rage.  My family is threatened by forces completely outside of our control – again.  And that makes me angry.     It’s always surprising to me – Mr. Counselor, Mr. Recovery, Mr. Spokesperson for […]

Let me just begin by saying that I am not an avid fan of any sport.  I like to watch the World Series and the Superbowl each year, but that has much more to do with the traditions surrounding those events and the excuse to eat unhealthy foods than with who actually wins.  I also […]

  Some of the best and most challenging advice I have gotten over these last 15 years of looking through the world with sober eyes is to “Keep it Simple”.  An alternate version of this motto floating around recovery circles is “Keep it Simple Stupid,” and in either case, it usually works for a trouble […]

I grew up in and around a bait and tackle shop business, and, consequently, learned quite a bit about fishermen “and women,” and the sport of fishing from a very young age.  As the family legend goes, my grandfather decided that our small town needed a store to supply fishing goods after an excursion with […]