This part of Bill’s excellent talk focuses on identity, social stigma and recovery styles. He describes how some people hide behind anonymity because they are ashamed of themselves.
‘Experiencing Recovery – Part 5′ by William L. White: Recovery Identity & Cultural Affiliation
July 9, 2014
ManyFaces1Voice: John Silverman
March 19, 2014
“I didn’t know anything about recovery. I didn’t know there was a place to come. I didn’t know there was some hope, so if we don’t put it out there, so if we don’t talk about how we recovered, how is anybody really going to know.”
John Silverman is a person in long-term recovery since 1984 and an Executive Producer for The Anonymous People film. He is a former member of the New York City Police Department, and has been performing private investigative and related security consulting for over 20 years.
After leaving the New York City Police Department and entering recovery, John founded his private investigative company, Silverman Associates, in 1988.
‘Recovery Advocacy and the Making of The Anonymous People: An Interview with Greg Williams’ by William L White
January 29, 2014
Greg Williams’ film The Anonymous People has contributed enormously to the new recovery advocacy movement in the US. How did it all begin? Here, Greg is interviewed by Bill White. Below, is just a small part of that interview – it is part of Greg’s Story.
‘Introduction
Since the rise of a new addiction recovery advocacy movement in the late 1990s, culturally and politically mobilized people in recovery have found numerous vehicles through which that advocacy is being expressed.
A few years ago, I was contacted by Greg Williams, who shared his vision of capturing on film the spirit of the new recovery advocacy movement being manifested in communities across the country. It was one of the great honors of my life to play a small part in making Greg’s vision a reality.
Today, the film The Anonymous People is being screened in theatres and community settings across the U.S. and in other countries. On November 6, 2013, I had the opportunity to interview Greg about his life and this film. Please join us in this engaging conversation.
‘Sharing our Experience, Strength and Hope, With our Friends Across the Pond’ by Phil and Sandy Valentine
July 11, 2013
I was looking through my blogs on Wired In To Recovery and came across one focusing on Phil and Sandy Valentine’s trip to the UK in late 2011. Thought I’d provide a link to the original source material on the CCAR website, an interview of this lovely couple by Bill White.
There are a lot of interesting points in this interview, but here are just a few as a taster.
Phil Valentine: Where recovery is concerned, anonymity and stigma still reign. People in recovery have worked in the treatment system for years, and their colleagues and co-workers (never mind the “service users”) don’t know they are in recovery. Personal recovery seems to be a taboo subject. And countrywide denial, particularly with alcoholism, prevails.
