This blog post is written from the influence of Brian Coon’s practice of drawing lessons from outside the addiction, treatment, and recovery field (See Coon’s 2024 post Lessons from outside the field: “Both sides of the string”). On July 3, 2026, Ezra Klein released an interview with Bryan Stevenson titled The America That’s Still Possible. … Continue reading Confrontation as a goal versus confrontation as a style
Author: Chris Budnick
2023’s #3 Post: “His mom sold the suit she bought for his funeral.”
A colleague spoke these 10 words during group supervision the other day. Ten words that encompass decades. Ten words that could fill a book or a semester. Ten words that describe addiction, trauma, loss of hope, resignation, preparation, change, belief, and somewhere new. Ten words about two actions – the purchase of a suit and … Continue reading 2023’s #3 Post: “His mom sold the suit she bought for his funeral.”
“His mom sold the suit she bought for his funeral.”
A colleague spoke these 10 words during group supervision the other day. Ten words that encompass decades. Ten words that could fill a book or a semester. Ten words that describe addiction, trauma, loss of hope, resignation, preparation, change, belief, and somewhere new. Ten words about two actions – the purchase of a suit and … Continue reading “His mom sold the suit she bought for his funeral.”
Sentences to ponder
Service in the absence of self-care is an act of self-destruction. Focusing on the self in the absence of service sustains the narcissistic self-encapsulation that is the very hallmark of addiction. Ironically, we must tend to self to serve others and serve others to escape entrapment within the self. Balancing self-care and service to others … Continue reading Sentences to ponder
Further Homage to Recovery Ancestors (Bill White, Chris Budnick, and Boyd Pickard)
This post is cross-posted at williamwhitepapers.com When I remember the thousands who died, many whose stories were never recorded in history, I bow my head. And when my wailing is done, I get up and carry on, not in my name, but in theirs….When you know your history, you know your value. You know the … Continue reading Further Homage to Recovery Ancestors (Bill White, Chris Budnick, and Boyd Pickard)
Sentences to ponder
“Drug abuse ceased to seem the preserve of a few eccentric or pathetic people and became a problem of national scope, with implications that touched American ideals. However imperfect, the new statistics indicated that many new drug abusers came from the ‘best elements’ of society. This discovery had important long-term results. It broke the stereotype … Continue reading Sentences to ponder
Sentences to ponder
“The public was unconcerned while addiction seemed confined to Chinese, prostitutes, tramps, or intellectuals and artists, all easily quarantined from society.” H. Wayne Morgan (1974) Yesterday’s Addicts: American Society and Drug Abuse, 1865 - 1920
Sentences to ponder
“Every generation assumes that it discovers or endures problems for the first time.” H. Wayne Morgan (1974) Yesterday’s Addicts: American Society and Drug Abuse, 1865 - 1920
Janaburson’s Blog
I appreciate the reflections in Dr. Jana Burson's most recent blog post. In particular, the following caught my attention: "I hear abstinence-only proponents criticize medications for opioid use disorder, and I think to myself, 'If you only knew how much some people benefit from methadone/buprenorphine, you would change your mind.' When I hear people who … Continue reading Janaburson’s Blog
Moving from the back seat to the front seat
In this blog, “we” refers broadly to society. In 2016 police officers posted photos on social media of two adults who were unconscious from a non-fatal opioid overdose in the front seat of their vehicle with the woman’s four-year-old grandson in the back seat (the four-year-old’s grandmother had been caring for him because of his … Continue reading Moving from the back seat to the front seat