A Porch & A Pen is where Laura Lea Cupp writes plainspoken, porch-tested stories about healing, humor, and small-town survival—mess and magic included.

You Don’t Sit Where the Trouble Is- Unless You Want Trouble

Drinking used to be my struggle, so I don’t hang out at the bar to “see old friends.”

If drugs nearly wrecked you, don’t go visit the dealer for nostalgia’s sake.

If temptation keeps tripping you up, don’t feed yourself with flirty reels or half naked strangers and call it ‘just browsing’.

If food is your downfall, you don’t just go and park yourself at the all-you-can-eat restaurant.

Sorry, not sorry.

You know what breaks you. Why keep showing up where the breaking happens?

Healing isn’t about proving you can stand in the fire. It’s about knowing when to stay out of the kitchen altogether.

When you’re serious about growth and change, you no longer hang out at the edge of the cliff just to test your balance. You don’t play chicken with your own downfall. You walk away. You stay away.

And no, it’s not a weakness to walk away. It’s wisdom. Survival.

Because here’s the thing— even if you think you’re managing it, even if you swear you’ve got it under control, those things catch up with you.

They sneak in through the cracks. They show up in your sleep, your relationships, in the way you live your life. In the way your life plays out.

You don’t always see the damage right away. But it builds. It waits. It remembers.

I’ve learned this the hard way. I’ve stood in places I had no business standing, answered calls I should’ve blocked, and I’ve intended to ‘just have one drink’.

But these days, I don’t flirt with what tried to kill me. I don’t entertain what nearly stole my soul. I don’t sit in rooms where my healing isn’t safe.

I build my porch somewhere quieter. Somewhere steadier. Somewhere I can breathe.

So if you’re trying to quit— quit showing up where the damage lives. You don’t owe anyone your peace. You don’t owe nostalgia, your sobriety. You don’t owe curiosity, your downfall.

Even if you think you’re strong enough to dabble— the harm remembers. And it always finds its way back.

Article From A Porch & A Pen

Blog By Laura Lea Cupp

A Porch & A Pen is Laura Lea Cupp’s blog—a plainspoken, porch-tested space where she writes about small-town survival, emotional grit, and the sacred mess of healing.

Laura Lea Cupp is a writer and blogger from London, Kentucky, whose work blends porch-tested humor, emotional grit, and small-town survival. She shares stories rooted in healing, family, and the sacred mess of everyday life—often with her husband Berry by her side and a busted blade or pajama pocket in tow. Her blog, A Porch & A Pen, is a living archive of resilience, tenderness, and truth told plain.

All images & text © Laura Lea Cupp

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