Our Recovery Journeys

Recovery from addiction comes from the person with the problem. He or she does the work in overcoming their substance use and related problems, getting well, and getting their life (back) on track. Recovery is a process of self-healing. Practitioners may facilitate recovery, but they do so by catalysing and supporting natural processes of recovery in the individual. 

‘Our Recovery Stories’ provides important insights into recovery and recovery-based care by showing the lived experience of recovery, through a collection of twelve inspiring Stories that describe people’s journey’s into and out of drug and/or alcohol addiction. Three additional Recovery Stories focus on family members whose lives have been affected by a loved one's substance use problem. All the book's storytellers have gone on to help other people with their recovery journey. 

The book is invaluable to people affected by substance use problems, as well as their family and loved ones, as it provides hope that recovery is possible (via a multitude of pathways), and provides an understanding of the nature of the problem (addiction) and how it can be overcome. The voices of recovering people are particularly empowering, since they are readily identified with and trusted by people in need of help. 

‘Our Recovery Stories’ is important for people working in treatment and recovery support services, as it helps them improve their work practices, whilst it will help commissioners and policy makers make much-needed improvements in our systems of care. The book will create a greater understanding of addiction and recovery in society for the general reader, helping to reduce the prejudice and stigma that exists towards people with substance use problems (and their families). Prejudice and stigma are major barriers to recovery. 

Author David Clark, a Professor Emeritus of Psychology, includes two additional chapters, one focusing on Factors That Facilitate Recovery and the other, entitled Brain Chemicals to Human Connection, outlines his journey in the addiction recovery field and describes the inspiring people he has met along the way over the past twenty years. 

David was previously an award-winning neuroscientist who trained with a Nobel Laureate (Arvid Carlsson), but changed 'career' because he did not feel that a biomedical approach was helping people overcome addiction. He received widespread recognition for his grassroots initiative Wired In, as well as for the online community Wired In To Recovery, which were developed to empower people to overcome substance use problems. 

More recently, he developed The Carrolup Story website (with John Stanton) and published the eBook ‘Connection: Aboriginal Child Artists Captivate Europe’, a magical story about traumatised Aboriginal children rising above adversity in 1940s Western Australia. A story of the healing of trauma. 

David blogs on his Recovery Stories website (www.recoverystories.info), which also provides a wealth of other content related to recovery from addiction, mental health problems and trauma, as well as Indigenous healing. Reflecting on his unique journey, David believes the three most important things he has learnt from his career are 'the strength of human spirit, the power of human connection, and the healing impact of story.'