I have had little time to work on our Recovery Voices project the last two weeks, since my youngest son has been visiting from the UK. And Sam, Linda and I have just returned from a five-day holiday in Sydney, where my youngest daughter Natasha is a Sydney tour guide for Welcome To Travel. She started her back-packing gap year (?) adventures nearly 18 months ago! The four of us had a wonderful time being together again and seeing the sights of Sydney and surrounds (three of us with our own guide!).
Sam and a newly arrived UK friend have headed out so I thought I’d do some Recovery Voices catching up. Decided I must start with our Testimonials section which I have not referred to before. I guess that some of you may not have got to the bottom of the Home page where this Testimonial section is placed. Wulf and I are so grateful to those who have supplied a testimonial and touched by their kind words. Here are the testimonials we have received:
‘David’s work across many decades has laid the groundwork for words and practices that today trip off the tongue, such as ‘recovery movement’ and ‘cultural trauma’. The Recovery Voices website brings his insights from the field into one home. It also invites us to the meal table within that house. He and his collaborator Wulf Livingston rightly reserve a special seat for the people and communities whose stories we must hear into full expression to move towards genuine reconciliation. Thank you, David, for your continued groundbreaking work and the wholehearted way you convene us into the heartland of an alternative future.’ Cormac Russell, Ireland, Author of Rekindling Democracy and Co-author of The Connected Community.
‘The new resource Recovery Voices digs into the lives and experiences of people who, in recovery themselves, spend time with others seeking, or in, recovery from addictions. In identifying themes, it draws out the rich diversity of experiences, showing how there is no single ‘grand narrative’ of recovery, no single ‘recipe’, just lots of people living out their own authentic lives in ways that they greatly prefer. The site represents a tonne of voluntary work from David Clark in Australia and Wulf Livingston in Wales. Their collaboration in itself shows how recovery seeds in, and spreads from, the spaces between people in relationships.’ Professor Wendy Dossett, University of Chester, England (lives in North Wales)
‘I’m glad that this new website has been launched—it’ll help people share their experience of what it means to be human and help remind them of the simplicity of the recovery journey to wholeness. Congratulations to my friends David, Wulf, and colleagues—their dedication to helping others navigate their humanness is something I’ve long admired.’ Wynford Ellis Owen, Wales, Former CEO at Living Room Cardiff
‘Congratulations on the new website!’ Bill White, USA (Addiction Recovery Advocate, Historian and Researcher)
‘I’ve been learning from David’s websites for over 20 years now, and his new Recovery Voices initiative with Wulf Livingston has added a new dimension to my experiences. I love the films and through them I am ‘meeting’ new people, discovering exciting recovery community initiatives, and learning even more about recovery and related matters. It’s a little university… and it’s only just begun!’ Michael Scott, Australia (45 years in recovery from alcohol addiction, 40 years as a drug and alcohol treatment practitioner)
