On the Other Side of Substance Use Disorder
What is life like on the other side of substance use disorder?
There is no single answer.
Recovery can mean rebuilding a life, rediscovering who you are, repairing relationships, finding purpose, learning to trust yourself again, and creating a future that once may have felt impossible.
On the Other Side of Substance Use Disorder is the second volume in the On the Other Side anthology series, created to share stories of long-term recovery, resilience, hope, and life beyond active substance use.
This volume will bring together the voices of people who have experienced substance use disorder and have been in recovery for five years or longer.
It is not only about what happened during active substance use.
It is about what came next..
There Is More to the Story
So much of the conversation surrounding substance use disorder focuses on crisis, relapse, treatment, loss, and the devastation substance use can cause.
Those conversations matter.
But we also need stories about recovery.
Stories about people who rebuilt their lives.
Stories about relationships restored or redefined.
Stories about careers, families, creativity, spirituality, community, service, joy, and ordinary everyday moments that once may have seemed out of reach.
Stories that remind people that substance use disorder does not have to be the final chapter.
This book is about the life that can exist on the other side.
Who This Book Is For
This volume is for anyone who needs hope that recovery can lead to a meaningful, fulfilling life.
It is for people currently struggling with substance use disorder.
It is for those who are beginning recovery and wondering what their future might look like.
It is for people further along in th
eir recovery journey.
It is also for loved ones, professionals, recovery communities, and anyone who wants to better understand what long-term recovery can look like.
At its heart, this book carries one message:
There can be more.
More healing.
More connection.
More purpose.
More joy.
More life.
What Do We Mean by Substance Use Disorder?
For the purposes of this anthology, substance use disorder may involve alcohol, tobacco or nicotine, prescription medications, or illicit drugs.
We recognize that substance use disorder can affect people in many different ways and that recovery does not follow one single path.
This anthology is not intended to promote one particular recovery model.
Instead, it honors lived experience and the many ways people find healing, stability, purpose, and a life beyond active substance use.
A Call for Contributing Authors
Your Story Could Be Someone Else’s Hope
Have you experienced substance use disorder?
Have you been in recovery for five years or longer?
Can you look back on your journey and speak not only about what you survived, but about the life you have built since?
You may be exactly the kind of voice this book needs.
I am currently gathering interest from potential contributing authors for On the Other Side of Substance Use Disorder: Volume Two.
This volume will feature personal stories from people with lived experience who can offer the perspective that comes with long-term recovery.
Your life does not need to be perfect.
Your story does not need to fit a particular recovery model.
You do not need to have every answer.
What matters is that you can share your experience with honesty, perspective, and hope.
Your Chapter Might Explore
You may choose to write about rebuilding your identity after substance use disorder, repairing or redefining relationships, returning to school or beginning a new career, parenting in recovery, finding community, discovering spirituality or faith, navigating shame or regret, learning healthy boundaries, finding purpose through advocacy or service, creating a life you never imagined possible, or simply learning how to live again.
Your story may center on one defining moment or span many years.
It may be dramatic or beautifully ordinary.
There is no single way to tell a recovery story.
The heart of your chapter is what life looks like now and what you discovered along the way.
Why Long-Term Recovery
This volume is intentionally focused on contributors who have been in recovery for at least five years.
Five years does not mean the journey is complete.
It simply provides enough distance for contributors to reflect on what has changed, what they have learned, what they continue to navigate, and how their lives have evolved over time.
The focus of this book is not only getting into recovery.
It is about living in recovery.
It is about the relationships, decisions, milestones, setbacks, growth, healing, and unexpected gifts that may unfold over the years.
Recovery Does Not Look the Same for Everyone
There is no one right way to recover.
Your path may have included a twelve-step program, medication, therapy, peer support, treatment programs, harm reduction, spirituality, faith, recovery coaching, community support, wellness practices, or a combination of many approaches.
Your path may look entirely different from someone else’s.
That is part of why these stories matter.
Together, they can show readers that recovery is not one narrow road.
There are many ways forward.
Be the First to Know When Submissions Open
If you are interested in becoming a contributing author, join the interest list to be among the first to receive information when submissions officially open.
You do not need to have your chapter written yet.
Joining the interest list simply lets me know you would like to learn more about contributing to this volume.
5+ Years in Recovery
Stories of hope.
Stories of resilience.
Stories of rebuilding.
Stories of life on the other side.
About the On the Other Side Series
The On the Other Side series was created to explore the experiences that change us, challenge us, and sometimes leave us wondering whether life will ever feel like ours again.
Each volume brings together personal stories, reflection, healing practices, and hope from people who have walked through their own version of the journey. At the heart of the series is the belief that our stories can create connection, help us feel less alone, and offer hope for what may still be possible.
The series began with Volume One, On the Other Side of Grief and continues with Volume Two, On the Other Side of Substance Use Disorder.
Possible future volumes may explore:
On the Other Side of Chronic Illness & Pain
On the Other Side of Fear
On the Other Side of Depression
On the Other Side of the Veil
Additional volumes may emerge as the series and its community continue to grow.
Sometimes we cannot see what is waiting for us while we are still in the middle of the story.
Together, we can keep exploring what may be waiting on the other side.
Join Us for Volume Two
If you have been in recovery from substance use disorder for five years or longer and feel called to share what you have discovered on the other side, I would love to invite you into this next chapter of the series.
Be the first to know when Volume Two opens for submissions.