My name is Josh. I’m 39. I’ve been sober just about nine months. I live in Chicago. I know the editor of this paper, Mike, and he encouraged me to write this—for various reasons, many of which you probably already know. Mainly because, apparently, this publication works hard to help addicts and their loved ones Read the Full Story >>
substance use disorder
Sobriety Nuts and Bolts
Reading a book on addiction recovery is not as daunting as recovery itself, but it can be a difficult task for numerous reasons... Read the Full Story >>
Understanding the Connection Between Loneliness and Addiction
I couldn’t move. I had reached the point where I could no longer continue living a life marred in addiction. It wasn’t simply a matter of being sick and tired of being sick and tired—I was, in a tangible way, killing myself. I laid on the floor of my wretched trailer apartment under a blanket, Read the Full Story >>
Addiction and Emotional Trauma in Childhood
The dynamic between my father and me was distant and unpalatable on so many levels—not the least of which was our contrasting physical statures. He was over 350 pounds for as long as I remember and I, having topped out in adulthood at 5’ 6” and 130 pounds, was always minuscule in his presence. Instead Read the Full Story >>
Substance-Use Disorder & Person-First Language: Why It Matters
How we perceive and treat people with substance-use disorder has a direct impact on access to treatment and long-term recovery for this community. The language we use to identify this disease is crucial in addressing solutions for people experiencing it. Read the Full Story >>
The Distance Between, by Timothy J. Hillegonds
As I read Timothy J. Hillegonds’ harrowing memoir of addiction and youthful rage, The Distance Between (University of Nebraska Press, 2019), I was reminded of a sentence written by one of my favorite fiction authors, Richard Lange: “We can only, all of us, run so far before what we really are and what is meant to be catch up to us.” Read the Full Story >>
A Deep-Dive Into Anger, Abuse, and Resurrection with Debut Author Timothy J. Hillegonds
A Chicago native, author Timothy J. Hillegonds stepped foot in Shepherdstown for the first time in 2012, and found himself smitten from the start. Seven years later, he readily calls Shepherdstown his second home, and by getting to know West Virginia’s oldest town as intimately as he has, he’s also become familiar with the Mountain State’s unfortunate connection to the nationwide opioid epidemic. Read the Full Story >>
The Sobriety Hype
What does it mean to be sober? Do you have to be serious all of the time? What about fun—can you have any fun? There is a stigma surrounding addiction, recovery, and sobriety that has not been fully dealt with in our society. If, as a society, we are unable to talk about something, then Read the Full Story >>
Finally: A Comprehensive Program for Substance Abuse in the Panhandle
Mountaineer Recovery Center, targeted to open in September 2019, will be the first in the state of West Virginia to provide this level of treatment, according to someone’s needs all in one place. Read the Full Story >>
The Me in the Mirror
After waking up, there is always the question of what comes next—what life might lie beyond the life you’ve left behind. — Leslie Jamison When I got sober four months ago, I began to wake up. With each passing day, my world came more sharply into focus, and the experience of assessing what surrounded me was Read the Full Story >>
Drug Take Back Day Gets an Upgrade in Shepherdstown
Across the U.S. every year, National Prescription Drug Take Back Day lands in cities and towns with the goal of providing a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications. Read the Full Story >>
America’s Opioid Killing Fields
Award-winning journalist Beth Macy’s Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America comes as a timely, in-depth look at America’s opioid crisis that tells the stories of its victims and traces the social and economic roots of the epidemic. Read the Full Story >>
Partnership in Martinsburg Adds Strength to Opioid Fight
The Martinsburg Initiative (TMI) is an innovative, multi-dimensional partnership that has developed a model solution to the crisis of Opioid Use Disorder and the general problems of other substance use, misuse, and substance use disorders. Read the Full Story >>
National Organization Arrives in Panhandle to Confront Opioid Epidemic
Established after the 2016 presidential election, The One America Movement’s (One America) mission is to build bridges and solve problems by bringing Americans together across racial, religious, political, and geographic divides in order to address pressing social problems like poverty, opioids, racial tension, and more. Read the Full Story >>
Is Legalization the Answer … to the Opioid Crisis?
On Thursday, January 4th, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions effectively ended the federal policy of non-interference with marijuana-friendly state laws. Needless to say, this is controversial for a lot of reasons, mainly because it’s a step back in the nation’s ongoing battle against opioid addiction. An interesting nugget the Trump administration might want to take Read the Full Story >>
