There are few things that inspire a deeper sense of apprehension and dread in someone in recovery from a substance abuse disorder than the prospect of a major surgery. Rare is the recovering drug addict who doesn’t know a contemporary… Read More ›
drug addiction
Sentiment Over Substance: How Presidential Candidates Talk About Addiction Without Saying Much Of Anything
It happened at the beginning of the New Hampshire Forum on Addiction and the Heroin Epidemic, well before the 5 mid-card presidential candidates who participated in the event showed up to speak. About halfway through the morning portion of the… Read More ›
The Bones of a Country: One Night in a Dead California Desert Town
Driving the 220 miles of road that lie between the Tehachapi mountains and the California-Arizona border, I started hearing the voice of Tom Joad ring in my ears. This here’s a murder country, he said to me. This here’s the bones of… Read More ›
So I Can Be Quiet Whenever I Want
It was the same thing every night. Come 11 o’ clock, one of the overnight techs would come in the room to bid goodnight to we princes of Washington, we kings of the pacific northwest, before turning off the lights… Read More ›
Constitutionally Incapable: Brief Reflections On My Time Living With an Autistic Alcoholic
In March of 2009, I went to the Hazelden Center For Youth & Families in Plymouth, MN to receive dual diagnosis treatment for alcoholism/addiction and bipolar disorder. Thankfully, both my addiction and mental health have been in check over the… Read More ›
Not All Deaths Are Created Equal
It’s the steely-eyed gaze of a suspicious everyman glaring at you from an electronic billboard or the ominously solitary backpack emblazoned on the side of a city bus. Anyone who has used public transit or walked through an airport terminal… Read More ›
Virally Suppressed - Muckraking For The Modern World 