The Power of the Pen
Sick, isolated, and numb, Carole Fontaine bought a journal and started going to a meditation class. The practice brought her back to wellness, and it held again through breast cancer.
Recovery is already here. Most of it goes unseen.
28 million Americans are in recovery1: already here, already contributing.
Journey brings their stories, and the resources behind them, into the places people already trust.
Help is out there. What’s missing is visibility. Recovery gets easier to find when more people talk about it.
7 Years 500K+ Copies 500+ Events Hundreds of Locations
Where would you like to start?
Read something. Pass it along.
1. Jones, C.M., Noonan, R.K., Compton, W.M., “Prevalence and correlates of ever having a substance use problem and substance use recovery status among adults in the United States, 2018,” Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 214 (2020), 108169.
New in print and online
From Issue 43
Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired
HALT (hungry, angry, lonely, tired) works better as a question than a checklist. A look at how a body running on empty gets mistaken for a character flaw.
The Bold Question
When an employee asked Fors Marsh what it did to support its own people through substance use and recovery, CEO Ben Garthwaite didn’t have a good answer. Here is what the company changed.
‘Fine’ or ‘Bad’
Early in recovery, many people have two words for how they feel: fine or bad. Naming feelings is a skill that goes quiet during substance use and comes back with practice.
A New Path Forward: Sweetser’s IOP Brings Recovery-Focused Care to Brunswick
Sweetser’s new Intensive Outpatient Program in Brunswick offers structured, evidence-based treatment three hours a day, four days a week, so people can keep working, studying, and caring for family.
Becoming a Writer in Sobriety
Leslie Johansen Nack got sober, raised a family, and graduated from UCLA at 31 before she began writing. Telling the truth in her Fourth Step became the foundation for her memoir and the books that fo…
This is what recovery looks like.
A local recovery story does what data cannot. It eases fear, opens conversation, and changes what seems possible.
Most recovery supports are free and built by people already living in recovery. The work is making them visible before someone needs them.
Personal Stories
Told by and with the people living them.
Ali’s Recovery Story
Ali’s recovery runs through a horse named Rebel, a 6 a.m. men’s meeting in Spokane, and a recovery home for mothers in Maine. Nearly seven years in, she describes it as a tangled ball of yarn, loosened one thread at a time.
Recovery Resources
Plain-language guides to the many paths people take, including peer support, 12-step, SMART Recovery, medication, faith-based programs, and more.
One of many paths
LifeRing Secular Recovery
“Sobriety. Secularity. Self-empowerment.”
Byron Kerr checks in at his LifeRing meeting, sharing how his week went while others listen and offer their own stories. No lectures, no doctrine. LifeRing builds recovery on three principles and lets people design their own path forward.
Recovery Basics Course
Know what to say when recovery comes up.
Recovery often goes unspoken, not because people don’t care, but because they’re unsure what to say. They don’t want to get it wrong, so they say nothing.
The Recovery Basics Course is a free, plain-language introduction to substance use, recovery paths, and what families navigate. It has three pillars and nine modules, and it takes about 40 minutes.
It explains without clinical distance, without judgment, and without telling anyone what to do.
No login. No account. Nothing tracked.
Community Outreach
Recovery visibility happens in real places.
Journey is free in hundreds of locations across Maine and New Hampshire: libraries, recovery centers, waiting rooms, workplaces, and the magazine rack at Hannaford, Shaw’s, and Market Basket.
It gets there because people carry it. Recovery organizations, local businesses, and Hope Ambassadors place it where they live and work, and our team shows up at community events alongside them.
Over half a million magazines , 500+ community events
Visibility grows through repetition, trust, and human connection.
Bring Journey to your organization
Free for community locations. Bulk copies available to purchase.
Find a copy near you
What Our Readers Are Saying:
Testimonials from the Community & Peers
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“Journey Magazine is an invaluable resource in our community, offering hope, inspiration, and crucial information for those on the path to recovery.”
Tommy Hayes
Admin Assistant / Staff Supervisor, Larry Labonte Recovery Community Center
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“By providing free access to inspirational stories and information about community-based support programs, Journey Magazine serves as a lifeline for those navigating recovery.”
Leslie Clark
Former Executive Director, Portland Recovery Community Center
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“Journey Magazine is not just a publication; it is a movement making recovery and hope visible for our communities.”
Courtney Allen
Executive Director, Maine Recovery Advocacy Project
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“Journey, forever thank you for helping readers embrace change while transforming lives and removing the stigmas of addiction, informing with stories of hope.”
Lori B
Southern Maine Re-Entry Center
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“When participants come to our center and see this magazine, they feel validated and realize they are not alone in their journey.”
Kari Taylor
Western Maine Recovery Center
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“Journey, thank you for helping your readers heal inside and out while breaking free from addiction.”
Marissa S
Southern Maine Re-Entry Center