I don’t know how you happened to land here, but I’m extremely glad you did.

Thrilled, actually!

I only wish I could greet you with a tray of cupcakes. Or, maybe, some pita and hummus.

Such are the limitations of the Internet.

But in the spirit of making yourself as comfortable as humanly possible, I invite you to kick off your pinching shoes…

…shed your tight-fitting undergarments…

…and please, for the love of God, remove your mask of normalcy.

I know that all those things serve a purpose as far as helping you “fit in” with the rest of humanity.

And that’s fine.

But in keeping with the spirit of this Universe of True Love…

I’d like to remind you that you’re free to check any baggage at the door that feels like it’s hiding or distorting who you really are.

On that note?

I can assure you that you won’t find anything in this Universe of True Love that represents anything other than the True Love inside the person who created it.

That would be me…. Emily Sussman.

And that’s the whole idea.

Because the expression of what’s in your heart is always an act of True Love.

My greatest hope is that you’ll stick around and explore this Universe of True Love long enough to discover some for yourself.

Your True Love.

In order to increase your chances of that happening, please keep your senses, your mind, and your heart open, whenever possible.

If there’s one thing I know about True Love, it’s that it has a mind and imagination of its own — for each one of us.

As such, True Love might show up for you in a feeling of connection…

A feeling of inspiration…

A feeling of desire…

…Or, maybe, through your own act of genuine creation.

So take a look around.

Assess the options.

Enjoy the presentation!

And ignore whatever it is you don’t like.

Take as much or as little as you want from my buffet of True Love, here, without guilt or regret.

True Love is both plentiful and limitless…

Which is a good thing, for those who come here hungry.

That’s another thing I should mention.

It’s perfectly okay to come to True Love in a state of wanting.

Even if you don’t quite know what you want to change, quite yet.

It’s my goal, as both a therapist and a coach, to move everyone I work with into a state of active and enthusiastic desire.

Because it’s only when we can identify what we want, that we can start to find our direction towards it.

After all…

You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t have the desire to live a better life than you currently do!

To that end…

True Love is always happy to serve.

❤️

That’s because humans can satisfy their physical needs — things like food, shelter, and resources — without a true and personal connection to love.

Survival is one thing, and I don’t mean to make it sound like it’s nothing.

But if survival was everything?

I think we’d both know a lot more people who were happy, secure, and fulfilled…

…instead of feeling empty, anxious, or lonely.

As a therapist, I can tell you that behind closed doors…

There are an awful lot of people with only seemingly perfect lives.

They’re secretly battling mental illness, chronic pain, dysfunctional relationships….

And, of course, addiction.

These are people who are deeply unhappy.

They resent their jobs.

Their circumstances!

The religion or God they grew up with.

And, even, their families.

But in my experience, there’s a deeper cause at the root of depression, anxiety, and addiction.

It’s because they’re unhappy with themselves.

Guilt.

Shame.

Anger.

Regret.

And remorse…

They’re struggling with feelings, memories, or circumstances they’re just dying to forget about.

The problem is, those feelings just never seem to go away.

But I think the most negative feeling of all isn’t really a feeling, per se.

It’s a lack of feeling — specifically, a lack of love.

Whether people know it or not, feeling a lack of love inside is the reason they reach out therapists like me.

I don’t do treatment gimmicks. I don’t play expert academic. And I’m not some hypocritical ego trip, talking down to you from some phony perch of personal perfection.

The reason I’m here is to do my part to help connect you to love.

True Love.

My name is Emily Sussman, and I’m an addiction therapist, a recovery author and coach, and a recovering addict myself.

And I believe that love isn’t just the way out of the darkness.

Love is the key to a free and joyful existence.

That’s why my approach to thriving in a life of love from the ashes of addiction is simple.

One hundred percent True Love.

❤️

I want you to know that love isn’t something you should know already.

You will never in a million years hear me utter the words you just gotta…

True Love may be simple, but it’s rarely “just” that easy.

I know all too well, that when you’re starting from a place of shame and self-loathing, or even just feeling numb all the time…

Love is anything but easy or intuitive.

Love isn’t anything you ever learned about in school.

And love definitely isn’t anything you’ve absorbed in the polluted air of our narcissistic and materialistic consumer culture.

But I can promise you that love isn’t anything abstract or woo-woo, either.

Love is real, it’s powerful, and it's available to everyone.

In other words…

Love is for you.

That’s right: Love is for you — no matter who you are, where you came from, or what you’ve done.

Sure, love can be a feeling, like the way it’s depicted in romance novels or feel-good movies.

But let’s not stop there. Love is so, SO much more than that.

Love is action.

Love is an attitude.

Love is an identity.

Love is an experience.

Love is a stance towards life.

And, especially when it comes to therapy…

Love is a process.

So let me ask you: is love your way of life, right now?

If it is, then you already know exactly what I’m talking about.

Love is your purpose.

Love is your meaning!

Love is how you connect to everything and everyone around you.

Love is both your means, and your objective.

Love is your guiding principle of how to live.

Or maybe you sense that right now, love isn’t any of those things for you.

If that’s the case, then you probably know some of the other ways we humans tend to fill our lives with so-called meaning, purpose, and direction.

Alcohol.

Drugs.

Money.

Food.

Sex.

Power.

Control.

Drama.

It’s not that any of these other ways of life are “wrong” or “bad.”

Let’s face it: we all engage in some of them, some of the time, to a greater or lesser extent.

So let’s not judge ourselves, please!

Instead, let’s throw a little love on the situation by simply acknowledging that reality with a shrug, before moving right along.

I mean, I’m assuming you want to move forward.

If you do?

Please stay with me.

❤️

For me, recovery hasn’t just been a journey.

It’s been what I like to call a Journey Deep Into the Heart of True Love.

And when I say heart, what I really mean is, my heart.

And when I say my heart, I’m talking about your heart, too.

The human heart!

And, along with that heart, our natural human desire to know ourselves, love ourselves, and express ourselves freely.

I don’t think this particular journey is so much about seeking happiness as it is about letting go.

Letting go of your doubts…

Your fears…

Your dishonesty…

Or whatever else isn’t working for you anymore.

It also means starting the process of letting go of your draining and destructive addictions.

Not that it’s easy to let go!

It can be terrifying to contemplate the idea of living without the defensive attitudes and behaviors that we believe keep us firmly in control…

And protected from pain.

Shying away from anything that makes us feel vulnerable or uncertain is pretty much a universal, among humans and animals, alike.

None of us grows up without building at least a few walls of self-defense — or, boulders, as the case may be.

And we addicts tend to be master builders.

But your walls do a lot more than help you control your exposure to pain.

Your walls prevent you from seeing, believing, and experiencing the True Love that’s already inside you.

That’s why you can’t take the journey deep into the heart of True Love all on your own.

Not without an unconditionally accepting guide, who will help you see yourself, understand yourself, and accept yourself along the way.

So that you can finally express yourself freely and lovingly, out in the world.

That’s me!

As long as you want True Love enough…

And you allow me to be your guide.

I believe that a successful recovery is a transformative process that’s guided by True Love.

And as miraculous as that process is, there’s no magic or smoke-and-mirrors to it.

True Love requires only that you trust in love enough to allow its benevolent process to unfold.

One day at a time, True Love will require your honesty, open-mindedness, and willingness…

All of which signal your consent for it to do its transformative work.

Because letting go of your need to control this process of recovery is another thing you might need some help with.

No problem!

That’s what I’m here for.

I have all the faith in the world that True Love isn’t just possible….

…True Love is both available and accessible.

To you.

In fact, True Love’s been waiting to jump into your arms for quite a while!

That is…

As long as you want love.

As long as you’re willing to practice love.

And, as long as you believe in love…

…or at least, suspend your disbelief

… until you begin to experience the truth of True Love for yourself.

❤️