Wulf Livingston

6th June 2024

Crumbs Off the Table: Wulf Livingston

It felt highly excluding. It was London, medical problem, and deficit-based eccentric exploration, with a tokenism towards Wales and then Cardiff tokenism towards the north, and a non-existent tokenism towards the Lived Experience Voice. I can only imagine the same story happens in numerous other parts of the alcohol and...
25th March 2024

Introducing Gary Rutherford of ARC Fitness

In this interview with Gary, we capture so much about what has inspired us to do this series. We have a recovery leader, a champion, who has taken his own personal recovery journey and understanding, and transformed it into a vibrant and thriving recovery community.
19th March 2024

My Conversation With Tim Leighton

Our latest release is an Interview with Tim Leighton, in which the abundance of value and values comes across very strongly. In this conversation, we have managed to catch from Tim a beautiful integration of community, educational, personal, political, professional, research and theoretical understandings about recovery.
20th February 2024

Why We Need Recovery Communities: A Reminder

The visibility of recovery; the active sight of those in recovery being in, and giving back to, the wider community; the demonstration of what is possible; and even the possibility of successful change are all pivotal to individual and collective recovery. The direct challenge...
12th February 2024

My Conversation With Rhoda Emlyn-Jones OBE

Rhoda Emlyn-Jones and I have known each other for over twenty years, during which time I have come to value her font of knowledge. It is therefore a real pleasure to have some of Rhoda's thoughts on what makes a difference in enabling families to recover.
1st November 2023

The Lure of the Mountains

Like many recovery groups and activities, DARE required the coming together of a group of motivated individuals. In this instance, it began with the desire of some in recovery to do the massive Welsh 15 peaks challenge, and their connection to three ‘friends of recovery’ with a depth of mountaineering experience and skills who wanted to...
16th October 2023

A Life Remembered

Like a stained glass window, with its different elements that make the total picture, John was known to all of us through many different contexts. Yet, he had a life richer and fuller than the parts we each knew. He was known to us, this diverse and disparate community, by a variety of names; JC, John Dogs, John Quack, John Vietnam and...
4th October 2023

A Service of Remembrance and Hope – Celebrating Living and Lived Experience

On Friday 29th September, North Wales Recovery Communities (NWRC) held their first full service of remembrance and hope. We gathered in Saint Deiniol’s Cathedral, Bangor, and expressed gratitude for being alive and kicking; and regret and sorrow for those...
19th September 2023

Introducing Marcus Fair

Marcus shares with us his decades of drug use, and a spiral into chaos and mayhem, his survival and eventual successful recovery. We then hear how influential individuals and moments alongside an introduction to broadcasting, and in particular film production, provided Marcus with a a fresh sense of purpose.
17th September 2023

My Addiction & Recovery: Wendy Dossett

At that time, her life was unravelling, she was experiencing a lot of suicidal ideation and attempting suicide, and was clinging on to a job with ‘splintering finger nails’. She was living in a mouldy touring caravan in a field, showering in the university she worked at...
17th September 2023

Introducing Dr. Wendy Dossett

Wendy has so much insight into the process of recovery. She is honest and thoughtful when reflecting on her own recovery journey. She has a rich understanding of the 12-Step Fellowship and in particular the role that spirituality plays in recovery. Many years of navigating obstacles within systems, and supporting meaningful actions...
13th September 2023

Why We Need Recovery Communities

I frequently get asked what is a recovery community? Why do we need them? It is sometimes hard to articulate all this encompasses in a succinct way. When I struggle to do so, I often cite the much-heard phrase from those still doing alcohol or other drugs, or those in recovery: ‘It is easier to get off than it is to stay off.’
10th September 2023

Introducing James Deakin

James is a straight-talking, man of passion who offers through his personal and the NWRC story a brilliant insight into the nature of a peer-led recovery organisation and how it is so different from, and is beyond, the world of treatment. Here is a short Film Teaser made from my interview with James in March 2023.