S117.
Writing for Recovery: New Sobriety Narratives
Saturday, March 26, 2022
9:00 am to 10:15 am
The addict's crisis transcends the page and is often brought there by the writer-addicts themselves. The trauma of addiction is a central conflict in any addict's story; however, it is not the only plot point. This panel of writers in recovery seeks to discuss where the sobriety narrative stands today, how recovery stories can combat harmful fetishization tropes that further stigmatize addicts, and how real-life recovery tools can help the writer become a better writer of witness.
Participants
Tara Stillions Whitehead is a writer and filmmaker. Author of the hybrid collections Blood Histories and The Year of the Monster, she is an assistant professor of Film, Video, and Digital Media Production at Messiah University in Pennsylvania.
Mike McClelland's first book, Gay Zoo Day, was released by Beautiful Dreamer Press in 2017. He is a graduate of Allegheny College, the London School of Economics, and Georgia College and is currently pursuing his doctorate at the University of Georgia.
L. L. Kirchner is a journalist, award-winning screenwriter, and author of two memoirs, including the forthcoming Blissful Thinking: Surviving the Wellness Revolution. Her essays have appeared in numerous anthologies and print outlets including the Washington Post and Salon.
Darren C. Demaree is the author of sixteen poetry collections, most recently a child walks in the dark.
