Honoring National Recovery Month as a Black Woman Veteran

Every September, National Recovery Month reminds us that recovery is possible through celebration, resources, and recognition. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), this powerful month promotes evidence-based treatment, recovery support, and dedication of service providers and recovery communities. 

For me, as a Black woman veteran, this magnificent month is about awareness and inclusion, encouraging mental and emotional well-being, and rewriting the narrative about recovery. As part of this community, Black women veterans are planting new seeds of identity beyond the uniform, and showing that sobriety is not about survival—it entails personal and spiritual growth.

The Unique Challenges Black Women Veterans Face in Recovery

Many of us carried resilience from the military, but we also carried our share of significant burdens:

• Hyper-independence made it difficult to ask for help in the civilian world.
  
• Emotional suppression left us disconnected from ourselves, our family, and friends.
  
• Isolation after joining recovery communities because they didn’t understand our intersection as both Black and a veteran.
  

Recovery invites us to release these burdens, but it also takes culturally aligned spaces for us to embrace our healing without reservation. Without a doubt, that’s why representation, visibility, and spaces like elorasong® matter.

Blooming in Purpose Beyond the Uniform

Sobriety is more than saying “no” to alcohol—it’s saying “yes” to becoming rooted in who we are at the core of our being. For me, my purpose began to bloom when I acknowledged, received, and realized:

• Sobriety wasn’t punishment; it was protection.
  
• My identity didn’t end with my uniform; it expanded with my healing.
  
• My voice—once silenced—is now a lifeline for others who need to hear it most.
  

This National Recovery Month, I stand rooted in recovery, blooming in my purpose, and I invite my sisters in sobriety to do the same.

Honoring Recovery as a Collective Movement

The message the recovery movement presents is that it is undoubtedly a victory celebrated both individually and within the community. Black women veterans deserve spaces where we are seen, safe, and supported in every facet of our healing. By creating and joining communities that reflect our struggles to triumphs in sobriety, we find strength in ourselves and each other.

This Recovery Month, I’m inviting you to take a faithful step toward cultivating the soil of your own recovery:

• Sign up for my newsletter to get recovery insights, or follow me on your preferred social media platform.
• Start small with the Self-Trust Reset Series — a free 4-day journey to rebuild trust in yourself.
• Join the elorasong Healing Hub — a safe community for Black women veterans in sobriety. Get the first 30 days free (no credit card required).
• Join the Rooted Beyond the Uniform™ Waitlist — my 12-week program launching this fall, guiding you to reclaim, renew, and refine your life beyond the uniform.
  

You don’t have to do this alone. Let’s bloom in recovery, together.

Until next time ... stay encouraged.

Elora