Cameron Obremski
Cameron Obremski's cat Belle runs and hides whenever he raises his voice. Years into recovery, he realizes he's chasing away the love he's finally learning to accept. This musician's journey reveals h…
Articles by Gabrielle Gilbert
From Recovery to the Finish Line, Chris Madden’s Story
Chris Madden stands at the summit of his forty-eighth mountain, his father beside him on the New Hampshire peak. Four years sober, Chris has transformed from someone struggling to believe in himself i…
Navigating Sobriety with Self-Compassion and Courage
Erin Hamlin stood in front of her fitness class, fully present with her three children at home, something she once thought impossible. Now a recovery advocate in Maine, she's learning that sobriety me…
Ryan Paige
Ryan Paige woke up in a hospital recovery wing after two overdoses in one week. That September morning in 2019, he made a choice that would reshape his life and eventually help thousands of others. Hi…
Josh Colwell
Josh Colwell sat in a crowded meeting, front row seat, listening to a stranger describe his own spiral with uncanny accuracy. The substances matched. The feelings matched. But this man looked like he…
Crystale Vega’s Journey
Crystale Vega was released from jail in March 2020 with five months of sobriety and little else. Three years later, she holds an associate's degree, a car, an apartment, and a leadership role helping…
Building Better, Building Together
Matthew Jones was skateboarding when he tore his second ACL. This time, he reached for the painkillers. Years later, after his family had left and his business had crumbled, a phone call from an old s…
A Son, Softened Ed Crockett’s Story
Ed Crockett was two years old when his father left, a man the newspapers called Portland's worst drunk. Thirty years later, they would find each other again. This is a story about how a son learned th…
A Community Film and Conversation
A seventeen-year-old filmmaker named Tyler Muise watched an audience cry at his fifteen-minute film about a high school boy spiraling through substance use. What moved them most wasn't judgment or sha…
Dave Smith
A young person in recovery asked Dave Smith if he ever thought about getting high again. Dave looked at his life: a twenty-year marriage, twelve grandchildren, a good job, a home. He realized the thou…
Carly and Brinn Flagg
Carly Flagg woke in an ICU bed after her father found her overdosed in the family bathroom. That moment split her life in two: before, when she stole from everyone she loved to fund her heroin use, an…
Christine Maider
Christine stood outside an AdCare facility in Worcester, watching people connect and smile. She wondered why she couldn't have that. Five years ago, she decided she could. Today, she's regained custod…
Anthony Brown
Anthony Brown sat on a park bench where he once slept rough, asking God for proof of existence. Years sober, he felt overwhelming peace wash over him in that moment. Today, that man who spent 23 years…
Sarah Langevin
Sarah closes the bathroom door in her Auburn home, not to hide, but to breathe. Four children play beyond it. Inside, she thanks the frustration and anger visiting her body, then lets them go. This sm…