Ten Most Viewed Posts, 2023

December 31, 2023 by

First of all, I would like to wish all readers All the Very Best for 2024. I hope you all had a restful and enjoyable Christmas. To help bring in the New Year, I thought I would let you know the ten most viewed posts on Recovery Stories this year.

10. Michael’s Recovery Story: ‘The Power of Empathy and Compassion’  Michael followed both his parents into a life of dependent drinking, but he was 45 years sober on 10 April 2023. He describes his recovery journey, his work as a drug and alcohol counsellor, and his part-time role in ‘retirement’.

9. Anna’s Recovery Story: ‘Should I or Shouldn’t I?’  Through his heroin addiction and recovery, Anna’s brother has taught her so much about life, including the most valuable lesson she could ever learn—you can get through anything.

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Reflections on, and Quotes from, Noreen Oliver MBE (RIP)

December 30, 2023 by

In my last blog post about the late Noreen Oliver MBE, I referred to the evaluation of the structured day care programme at Noreen’s Burton Addiction Centre (BAC)—later to become The BAC O’Connor Centre–that my Wired In colleagues and I conducted back in 2004. In addition to this evaluation, which was requested by Noreen, we wrote 19 Stories of BAC clients, and conducted two pieces of qualitative research, one focused on recovery and the role of treatment processes, and the other on recovering heroin users’ views on substitute prescribing (methadone versus Subutex).

This was an incredibly stimulating and enjoyable collaborative project that led to a close friendship between Noreen and I which has continued over the years, despite me living on the other side of the world. In this blog post, I refer to my early visits to BAC, Noreen’s earlier life, Noreen’s reflections on key treatment matters, a memorable short story, and …

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An Extraordinary Recovery Champion: Noreen Oliver RIP

December 20, 2023 by

I woke up yesterday morning to find a message via Linked In from Kendra Gray, Strategic Director at The BAC O’Connor Centre, about my good friend and inspirational figure Noreen Oliver MBE. Kendra’s message was accompanied by the following::

‘It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts that we share the news of the passing of our beloved Founder & Managing Director, Noreen Oliver MBE, Hon.DLit, who passed away on December 16, 2023, at the age of 63. Noreen was a passionate advocate for drug and alcohol policy reform, dedicating 25 years of her life to the relentless pursuit of positive change within the drug and alcohol community.

Noreen’s unwavering commitment to her cause was truly remarkable. She fearlessly challenged politicians, tirelessly pushing for reform and improvement in every corner possible. In 1998, she established the BAC with just two rooms in Burton-on-Trent and a mission to make a meaningful impact. Today, the BAC boasts over 70 beds providing detoxification, residential rehabilitation and recovery housing and operates community services nationwide, a testament to Noreen’s unwavering commitment.

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My Apologies

December 20, 2023 by

I need to apologise that I have not posted on our Recovery Stories website for some time now. This is due to focusing on my Recovery Voices project and website, both done in collaboration with Wulf Livingston of North Wales, and enjoying a month-long visit from our youngest son Sam. During Sam’s visit, we spent five days in Sydney visiting my youngest daughter Natasha who is currently a Sydney tour guide for Welcome To Travel.

I thought I would remind you about the Recovery Voices website, which has been developed by Ash Whitney of Wired Up Wales (who also created the present website):

‘Recovery Voices, developed by David Clark and Wulf Livingston, captures conversations about what works in supporting recovery from addiction, and in the development of peer-led recovery communities, from a range of individuals with lived experience, as well as friends of recovery.

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Recovery Voices: Our First Two Weeks

October 9, 2023 by

We have just started Week 3 of our new Recovery Voices website, a project with Wulf Livingston of North Wales and Ash Whitney of South Wales. This project was developed in order to capture conversations about what works in supporting recovery from addiction, and in the development of peer-led recovery communities, from a range of individuals with lived experience, as well as friends of recovery.

I thought I’d just update you on our most viewed web pages to date. Here are the top five:

1. Dr. David McCartney: Links to the 15 main films I edited from my interview with David, along with summaries. David founded Lothians & Edinburgh Abstinence Programme (LEAP)—a residential rehab in Lothian, Scotland, delivered by the NHS and partners. David has an excellent Recovery Review blog.

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The Recovery Walk in Hull 2023: Carl’s Story

October 2, 2023 by

Hull Recovery Walk 2023, t-shirts courtesy of Release

Recovery Month in the UK is now over. There is no doubt there were many exciting and inspirational activities around the country. Here are some reflections sent to me by a person who I first met over a decade ago.

‘As Recovery Month comes to a close, I find myself reflecting on the wonderful experience I had just a few days ago at the UK’s annual Recovery Walk. On Saturday 23rd September, like thousands of other people, I attended the UK Recovery Walk in Hull. I went to see friends and colleagues from across the UK that I had not seen for a while, and honour my friends and clients who sadly couldn’t be with us.

I started my recovery journey in 2007, and my brother followed me 6 years later. Dedicated workers, peer support, mutual aid groups, good friends and family helped me maintain and grow my recovery. Seeing thousands of friends and allies of people in recovery on Saturday reminded me just how important this cause is.

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David Clark, with Huseyin Djemil

September 26, 2023 by

This is an interview I did in June 2021 with Huseyin Djemil of Towards Recovery for his Journeys Podcast. I later edited the interview into 12 clips which you can see below. I thought I would sneak this interview into our Recovery Voices collection to, at least temporarily, avoid having to edit more film of myself. Huseyin takes me through various parts of my journey, including my neuroscience career, recovery advocacy work (Wired In), and the writing of an eBook about Aboriginal child artists which relates to the healing of trauma. We cover a range of recovery-related topics, including the power of story, the impact of trauma, recovery as self-healing, and the power of human connection. [12 films, 69 mins 56 secs]

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James Deakin, Part 3

September 26, 2023 by

My second interview with James Deakin, Founder of North Wales Recovery Communities (NWRC), took place on 16 June 2023. We covered a range of topics relating to the functioning of NWRC. These topics included NWRC trying to create as many recovery pathways as possible, involving various mutual aid groups holding meetings at NWRC’s Penrhyn House; the power of ‘the group’ in helping individuals; the importance of being committed to, and engaged with, the various activities offered by NWRC; the importance of service to the community and further afield (with examples, including a project in Kenya); education; and dealing with trauma and its impact. [11 films, 57 mins 56 secs]

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Marcus Fair of Eternal Media

September 26, 2023 by

Marcus Fair talks about his 25-year addiction to heroin and crack cocaine, which was accompanied by long periods of homelessness and time spent in prison. He describes his last visit to prison as saving his life. There, he conceived the idea of Eternal Media. At the request of North Wales Chief Constable Simon Shaw, Marcus made the film Flipped It!, using police and people who had been in trouble with the police as actors, which received considerable acclaim. Eternal Media is a media production social enterprise and charity making high impact documentary films, as well as operating as an inspiring recovery community. [14 films, 81 mins 19 secs]

Filed Under: Recovery Voices

Wulf Livingston, Part 2

September 26, 2023 by

In a second interview with my co-founder of Recovery Voices, Wulf Livingston describes the national addiction recovery movement which grew up in the UK between 2008-12, and then how this initiative faded at a national level over later years. What we see today in terms of recovery is very different to what occurred at this earlier time. Wulf goes on to talk about the development of North Wales Recovery Communities (NWRC) in Bangor, North Wales, one of a number of exciting recovery community initiatives dotted around the UK, and its Founder, James Deakin. Wulf has been closely associated with James and NWRC since its development. [12 films, 77 mins 14 secs]

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James Deakin, Part 2

September 26, 2023 by

After being interviewed by Wulf Livingston, James Deakin describes various stages of his life to David Clark. He starts by briefly talking about his cocaine addiction, the time he was tortured by some Manchester hoods and the psychological impact this had on him, and his move to Bangor. He describes working as a chef, then as a mental health worker and Drug Interventions Programme (DIP) worker. Once he started working in the recovery field, James realised he could make a significant contribution. He talks to David about peer-led recovery communities and describes what he tells members of North Wales Recovery Communities (NWRC). [8 films, 43 mins 13 secs]

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Wulf Livingston of Recovery Voices

September 26, 2023 by

Recovery Voices colleague Wulf Livingston talks about his early hedonistic drug and alcohol use, life as a successful chef, and qualification as a social worker. He then worked with the drug and alcohol charity Lifeline, the drug treatment charity CAIS in North Wales, and the Probation Service. Wulf later joined academia, eventually becoming Professor of Alcohol Studies at Wrexham University. He believes what really makes a difference to people’s lives is what occurs beyond the addiction treatment phase. I am enthralled by Wulf’s passion for social justice, his knowledge about what is needed to help more people recover from addiction, and his commitment to helping create positive societal change. [16 films, 79 mins 57 secs]

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Professor Wendy Dossett of the University of Chester

September 26, 2023 by

In the fourth of our Recovery Voices series, Wulf Livingston interviews his good friend Dr. Wendy Dossett. Wendy describes how she reached out for help 18 years ago at a time when she was in absolute agony due to her drinking problem. She has not had a drink of alcohol since that time. In their fascinating discussion, Wendy and Wulf cover a wide range of topics, including the nature of addiction, a wide variety of aspects related to the 12-Step Fellowship, foundations of recovery, grassroots community, recovery advocacy and the system, and recovery friendly universities. [17 films, 88 mins 28 secs]

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Huseyin Djemil, Part 3

September 26, 2023 by

In a third interview, Huseyin Djemil talks about the traumatising events he experienced as a young child. His father and mother were arrested after the former killed someone in their house. Huseyin and his sisters lived with relatives until their mother was released from prison. Their father served time for manslaughter. Huseyin talks about the impact that these events had on his later life, and how he discovered more about the events from public records. [3 films, 21 mins 18 secs]

Filed Under: Recovery Voices

Dr. David McCartney of Lothians and Edinburgh Abstinence Programme (LEAP)

September 26, 2023 by

Dr. David McCartney of Lothians and Edinburgh Abstinence Programme (LEAP) talks to David Clark about the development of his drinking problem whilst working as a GP in an inner-city practice in Scotland. He describes an unsuccessful attempt at sobriety, which involved a medical approach focused on prescribing. In crisis, he later called the Sick Doctors Trust Helpline and was told a doctor’s personal recovery story. That telephone call gave him hope and the opportunity to take his own journey to recovery. David talks about setting up LEAP and about facilitating recovery in the community. [15 films, 76 mins 11 secs]

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James Deakin of North Wales Recovery Communities (NWRC)

September 26, 2023 by

Wulf Livingston interviews James Deakin, Founder of North Wales Recovery Communities (NWRC). James describes his drug-dealing days in Manchester and cocaine addiction. He begins his recovery journey after moving to Bangor, and spends ten years working as a chef before becoming a Drug Interventions Programme (DIP) worker. He becomes disillusioned by the treatment system, but inspired by recovery advocate Mark Gilman. He receives funding from outside the system to set up the peer-led NWRC, which has a residential facility (Penrhyn House), Growing for Change food project, and a community cafe, Bwyd Da Bangor. James describes NWRC activities. [14 films, totalling 82 mins 30 secs]

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Huseyin Djemil, Part 2

September 26, 2023 by

Huseyin Djemil became the first of our Recovery Voices when he was interviewed by David Clark in March 2023. He was interviewed again by David in April 2023, covering a varied range of topics which included: recovering people needing to be visible: the Japanese art off Kintsugi, which teaches you that your broken parts are valued; an analogy of the revolving door of treatment; promoting belief in recovering people; his work as a Drug Strategy Co-ordinator for the seven London Prisons; and his reflections on the drug treatment system.  [8 films, 41 mins 32 secs]

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Huseyin Djemil of Towards Recovery

September 26, 2023 by

In the first of our Recovery Voices series, Huseyin Djemil talks to David Clark about Towards Recovery, a recovery community he developed in Henley-on-Thames in the UK. He also describes some of his work as a freelance consultant in the addiction field, and reflects on various themes related to recovery and treatment. Huseyin is in long-term recovery from an addiction to Class A drugs. Recovery Voices is a new initiative being developed by David and Wulf Livingston of North Wales. [15 films, 88 mins 57 secs]

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Recovery Voices Website Launched

September 26, 2023 by

After six months work, our new website Recovery Voices was launched on 25 September 2023.  The Recovery Voices project has been developed in collaboration with Wulf Livingston of Tregarth in North Wales, and the website built by my good friend Ash Whitney of Wired Up Wales, who is from Cilfrew in South Wales.

The idea for this project developed exactly a year ago when I visited Wulf and he took me to visit two elements of North Wales Recovery Communities (NWRC) in Bangor, their residential community Penrhyn House and their cafe/restaurant Bwd Da Bangor (Good Food Restaurant).

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Recovery Voices Launched Today

September 25, 2023 by

At long last I am back to posting a blog on this website. My apologies for the silence, but I’ve been very busy working on a new website, which has been officially launched today. The Recovery Voices project has been developed in collaboration with Wulf Livingston of Tregarth in North Wales, and the website built by my good friend Ash Whitney of Wired Up Wales, who is from Cilfrew in South Wales.

The idea for this project developed exactly a year ago when I visited Wulf and he took me to visit two elements of North Wales Recovery Communities (NWRC) in Bangor, their residential community Penrhyn House and their cafe/restaurant Bwd Da Bangor (Good Food Restaurant).

What we wanted to do was capture conversations about what works in supporting recovery from addiction, and in the development of peer-led recovery communities, from a range of individuals with lived experience, as well as friends of recovery. To do this, we have initially been conducting interviews online with five friends who have lived experience of addiction and recovery who have go on to develop exciting new recovery-focused initiatives—James Deakin, Huseyin Djemil, Wendy Dossett, Marcus Fair and David McCartney. In addition, I have interviewed Wulf.

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