call for submissions on addiction and recovery

The below call for submissions comes from Emily who contributed to Sick. She is a fantastic and brilliant individual, and this project is extremely important. Please be in touch with her through substancebook at gmail dot com if you're interested in submitting.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS ON ADDICTION AND RECOVERY

Substance: On Addiction and Recovery is a collection of people’s experiences with addiction and recovery in radical and/or marginalized communities. Not just a text to break the silence, Substance is an opportunity for those affected by substance abuse to make meaning of our lives and create opportunities for lasting social change. Substance: On Addiction and Recovery will be a book that transcends the mainstream discourse regarding addiction and recovery and forges new pathways towards healing and the reclamation of our lives.

I am open to essays, poetry, personal narratives, photography, art, comics, collage, and more.

Please be in touch with questions and submission ideas: substancebook at gmail dot com!

Potential topics:

• personal narratives of addiction and/or recovery • support groups • radical sobriety • harm reduction • silence and stigma • withdrawal
and detoxification • the intersections of race/class/sexual
orientation/gender identity/disability status and addiction • creating and sustaining community support networks • how addiction intersects with activism, sexuality, health, sexual and intimate partner violence, mental illness, privilege, oppression, identity, capitalism, the state, work, and creativity • current or historic examples of community-based groups that focus on the politics of addiction or support of community members • healing from addiction • self-medication • overdose and death • incarceration and criminalization

In addition to pieces by individuals, I'd like to include a few pieces about the work that community-based groups have done to address the politics of addiction and recovery and to support those dealing with substance abuse. If you are a member of such a group, please feel free to write.

THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS MARCH 7, 2011

Additionally, if you know anyone who would like to donate funds of any amount to support the printing of this book, please have them contact substancebook at gmail dot com!

Please forward this message on, and spread the word!

Contact Emily (substancebook at gmail dot com) for more information

second issue

For information on Sick #2, please contact Mandy at sickzine at gmail dot com. She is coordinating this issue. If you want to contact me (Ben) about anything, please do so at illnesszine at gmail dot com. Confusing, I know! Thanks so much. xo.

More reviews!

Dagger Zine / www.daggerzine.com

Sick is a compilation of stories by writers sharing the gory details of their experience with physical illness. It is a fascinating read. From kidney disease to hypoglycemia, everyone has a story to tell, not just about having one’s body go to war with oneself, but how sickness can affect people’s connections to the folks they love. It’s about our really broken healthcare system. And it’s true, in most public circles, people don’t really wanna hear about this. Sickness is depressing. It’s ugly. It’s not very cool to go on and on about problems with your bowels, or
whatever. But being sick is not all there is to Sick. It’s about knowing oneself on a new level. It’s about living that old saying “Whatever doesn’t kill you, really does fucking make you stronger.”

The following is from an article on Sick that appeared in 18 local papers throughout Long Island. Pretty sweet!

“The stories are gritty, no-holds-barred, firsthand accounts of what it is like to live and cope with physical illness and chronic disease, including the struggle to get and then find one’s way through the maze that is health insurance. By openly revealing what it feels like to be young and sick, the authors - mostly young women - go a long way toward supporting [the zine’s] vision.

Hospitals and physicians would do well to have this publication, and ones like it, available as resources for young people with physical illnesses and their friends and family members. Giving voice to what it is like to suffer in silence, is a way that these young DIY authors have extended the bonds of belonging to create true communities of care.”

For the full article, go to: www.antonnews.com/massapequanobserver/opinion/5133-parenting-plus-january-1-2010.html