Does Recovery Kill Great Writing?

I felt something else: initiated, aglow. The whole world stood accused: You never told me it felt this good.

Alcohol Substance Abuse Addiction Sobriety Recovery

I was afraid that loving the drunk story best meant some part of me still wanted to keep living it. And of course, some part of me did.

— Leslie Jamison, nytimes.com

Addiction Alcoholism Recovery Pain and Creativity Addiction and Writing

I mashed the lime in my vodka tonic and glimpsed — in the sweet spot between two drinks and three, then three and four, then four and five — my life as something illuminated from the inside.

— Leslie Jamison, nytimes.com

Addiction Alcoholism

It was liberating to start imagining that there could be meaningful stories told about wreckage, sure, but also meaningful stories told about what it might mean to pull yourself out from under it: stories about showing up for work, for intimacy, for other people; stories about getting through ordina…

— Leslie Jamison, nytimes.com

Addiction Alcoholism Recovery Pain and Creativity Addiction and Writing

We were giddy from the sense of trespass.

— Leslie Jamison, nytimes.com

Rulebreakers Rebellious Act Giddy

The lie wasn't that addiction could yield truth. The lie was that addiction had a monopoly on it.

— Leslie Jamison, nytimes.com

Addiction Alcoholism Recovery

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