For many years, alcohol and other substances felt like the only thing that made me feel safe, seen and comfortable in my own skin. Growing up in a small Midwestern town, I never fit the mold of what a boy was “supposed” to be. I was bullied for how I dressed and looked, and called names when I showed emotion or vulnerability. The message was clear: Who I was wasn’t acceptable. Anxiety and depression followed, and by the time I discovered alcohol as a teenager, it felt like the only thing that made life bearable. But that relief was fleeting. My life spiraled into darkness—I failed out of college, lost relationships and, most painfully, felt like I was losing myself. Recovery gave me my life back. It reminded me that no matter how dark life becomes, there is always a way forward.
But recovery is not just a personal journey—it is a political one. When people recover, they become active participants in their communities. They vote, parent, work, study and volunteer. Recovery teaches us how to sit beside people who are different from us, offer a hand, and say: You got this, you are not alone. At a time when our democracy feels fractured and so many are isolated and hurting, recovery provides a roadmap for how we can heal together. It’s not only about saving individual lives—it’s about restoring the conditions that make democracy possible: connection, resilience and shared purpose.
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The road to recovery—and the right to recovery—is essential to a free and fair democracy. This essay is part of a new multimedia collection exploring the intersections of addiction, recovery and gender justice. The Right to Recovery Is Essential to Democracy is a collaboration between Ms. and the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health at Georgetown Law, in honor of National Recovery Month.