addiction and recovery | Concrete Confessions

Aug 1517 min read

Last of the Laowai Part II: The Final Resort

Funny and frightening stories from an American expat who spent the pandemic in Mainland China.

Aug 96 min read

Snapshot: Does Anything Ever Really Change?

"In prosperity, our friends know us; in adversity, we know our friends" John Churton Collins

May 127 min read

Happy Mother's Day (From an Addict Son to his Long-Suffering Mom)

To the woman who taught me about the Golden Rule and the Rules of Evidence; how to walk the narrow path of righteousness and how to avoid...

May 12 min read

Off the Cuff, From the Heart

A subscriber who is a fellow writer and who suffers from a mental illness that isn't addiction emailed me with kind words about my piece...

Apr 308 min read

Medical-Grade Xylazine Product Review: Pure Garbage With No Place in the Recreational Pantheon

In which I discuss injecting xylazine sourced from a veterinary lab during my wayward youth, which was a lackluster experience if ever...

Apr 2412 min read

How Far Is Too Far and How Much Is Too Much? The Ethics of Mark Laita's "Soft White Underbelly" YouTube Channel

Does photographer Mark Laita's YouTube channel "Soft White Underbelly," which chronicles the lives of addicts and others at the fringes...

Apr 44 min read

International Love in the Time of COVID: Are "Long-Distance Relationships" Oxymoronic?

Some reflections on what a year and a half of involuntary separation due to the COVID pandemic has taught me about my relationship with...

Mar 316 min read

Nine Factors to Consider When Choosing an Inpatient Rehab (From a Pro!)

This picture has nothing to do with rehab; it's a seaside resort in Southern China. There are rehabs that look like this, though. On the...

Jan 1511 min read

Detox Playlist to Soothe the Soul (w/ Links and Lyrics)

What to listen to when the heebie jeebies are getting the best of you. These tracks are transcendental, poetic, wistful, sublime: A detox...

Jan 41 min read

Narco-Karma

Do we deserve the epidemic of addiction that's swallowing the U.S.? Dark thoughts for a dreary day. Beijing hood. I lived around the...

Dec 31, 202310 min read

Enough, Cat Marnell (Book Review)

Cat Marnell competing with yours truly for the Sloppiest Person of the Century Award (photo courtesy of Getty Images). *4/15/2024:...

Dec 14, 202320 min read

I Was Simon Song

This is the first installment of the China Chronicles (aka the Last of the Laowai or any other twee alliterative pair that you'd care to...

Dec 11, 20235 min read

First Step Part II: A Gut Punch to the Soul

First Step of NA / AA: We admitted that we were powerless over drugs / alcohol; that our lives had become unmanageable. I am the first...

Dec 11, 20235 min read

First Step Part I: Serenity, 1 Mg Tablet (Benzo Binge)

First Step of NA / AA: We admitted that we were powerless over drugs / alcohol; that our lives had become unmanageable. Doctor please,...

Dec 11, 20233 min read

What Is Hell?

Is it a fiery pit, eternal separation from God's love, or perhaps just insight into the true nature of things? I have spoke with the...

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