[ ABOUT ]
[ THE MANIFESTO ]
I refuse to accept I am powerless, for I am all that I have. What does it mean to say “I'm doing well” in a world that's designed to make people unwell? I don't need recuperation—I don't need to get better at adapting to a “normal life,” I don't need a normal that's better at including me. There is no normal that is not a prison, and there is no prison that should not be destroyed. And I refuse to surrender my desire for destruction to any power that claims to be above me.
I accept my desires are larger than life, and that what I destroy will never be enough. Still I desire, still I live, and still I destroy, for it is within my power. I am the product of the choices I refuse to surrender. And it is my commitment to making militant assessments of those choices that makes me sober.
I want to break free from my own suffering in a way that fully meets my needs or not at all. And I want to act in solidarity with your liberation from suffering in a way that fully meets your needs or not at all. For liberation is the product of caring for the people we refuse to abandon. And it is our commitment to not abandoning ourselves for each other that makes us comrades in recovery from this world.
[ THE PROJECT ]
This project was born out of a dissatisfaction with existent addiction recovery programs that attempt to take a depoliticized approach towards recovery, as well as traditional 12-step programs with a Christian approach towards recovery, both of which are geared towards individual rehabilitation within the status quo as opposed to treating individual wellness as a factor that is intimately tied to liberation at every level from the status quo. I want this to be a space where partisan addicts can freely process their recovery with each other without having to politically defang themselves in the name of preserving fellowship. I want this to be a space where nobody's principles have to be sacrificed in the name of receiving care, and where nobody's care has to be sacrificed in the name of defending principles.
This is an asynchronous letter-writing group with email as an option for those who prefer to correspond electronically instead. The intent behind not solely using email is to make it more accessible for incarcerated or homeless addicts to join. The intent behind not solely using snail mail is to make it more accessible for addicts outside the U.S. to join. There will be a U.S.-based PO Box for those who wish to use it.
This is a peer support group for adults. If you are a youth addict in recovery who is interested in starting a similar project, I am more than happy to offer support with getting word about your project out and offering advice on how to facilitate the group, but I do not want to act as anybody's mentor in recovery.
You do not have to commit to total sobriety in order to participate in this group. I only ask that you're committed to having a sober mindset, to recognizing that you are the product of the choices you refuse to surrender, and making militant assessments of those choices. What do you feel like you have no choice but to do or don't do? Why do you feel that way? How do the outcomes of those choices impact your well-being, and that of others? Are these outcomes you tolerate or outcomes you truly desire? What can you destroy to create space for your true desires to flourish today?
Each person gets to decide: – How often they want to write – How many people they want to write – Whom they want to write – When and how to end correspondence – Any additional boundaries and expectations they want to set in place with each individual they're corresponding with
There will be a non-publicly-viewable spreadsheet of contact info for everyone participating in the project, and people who are not using the PO Box can choose whether or not they feel comfortable having their physical mailing address displayed.
When you join the group, I or another facilitator will send you a welcome letter with our contact info in case you need to reach out for support if you have a safety concern regarding other members of the group.
Please refer to the [ E/MAIL GUIDELINES ] for more information on how correspondence will work.