Before today’s post, I wanted to share two quick sobriety related articles that made me really happy–hope you enjoy:

• The Salt featured an article about the growing demand for non alcoholic craft beverages–hooray!  I am happy businesses are starting to realize we’d love more options than a water…
• The Kitchn posted from the perspective of a friend of someone in recovery, and wrote about how the awareness of her friend’s journey changed the way she hosted events.  Just lovely.

I wanted to post about the Healing Garden that local volunteers have put together to remember those who were lost in the shooting here a few weeks ago.

Located in Downtown Las Vegas near the intersection of Charleston and Casino Center, this was just a beautiful place to visit and reflect.

When I had the chance to visit, there were a large amount of people out to pay their respects.

The garden includes 58 trees, one for each person who was killed, and also has a walking path behind the Remembrance Wall.

Jay Pleggenkuhle and Daniel Perez of Stonerose Landscapes headed up the charge to create this thoughtful memorial with the help of over 500 volunteers.

Flowers, trees, and shrubs are everywhere here and the entire place has an aura of peace and reverence.

Local company Capriati Construction laid the concrete around the large central tree in the shape of a heart.  You can see here a hand drawn guide for the plot…it’s truly beautiful.

I am sad that we have to create something like this here, but I am grateful to the volunteers who came together to create this for the community, local and otherwise.

I hope the garden can continue to be a place of healing for those in need, and hope if you’re in town that you’re able to stop by and see this place of tranquility.

Thanks for reading, and happy sobering friends. ❤