Getting High on Recovery

Three years ago I started my blog. Over the last three years I have been blown away. Not because I have huge numbers, great financial success or fame. Nope.

The reality is that I don’t really go for these things. When I began this blog, I just wanted to share my writing with other people. At first, I didn’t have a focus to my writing and my early posts lacked editing. It’s tempting to go back and trash my early work, but the truth is that we all have to come from somewhere.

About a year after I had started my blog, I came across the Good Men Project. What struck me about them was that they were a site with diverse voices on topics that matter to men. They were not afraid to deal with topics that mattered to me like men and mental health, male insecurities, the changing role of men in society, male identity and spirituality for men.

Many women are also a part of the conversation at The Good Men Project. I am who I am in part because of my relationships: my parents, uncles and aunts, friends, my wife and my kids. Good men come from families, communities and relationships. The Good Men Project realizes that it takes men and women together to make the world a little better.

On July 1, 2015 I became an author for the Good Men Project. I took a few of their online classes, which were informative and helped me to improve my writing and eventually led to me becoming an Editor. What I found incredible was that the Good Men Project is different than many sites. You can actually talk to the leadership on the weekly calls. I have been privileged to meet folks from around the world, making a contribution to a media site that is trying to do more than get more air time.

What I love about the Good Men Project is that they are a community. I write about mental health, addiction recovery, spirituality, parenting, and marriage. They have welcomed my voice and the diverse voices of thousands of other writers and contributors.

I began by participating in their Facebook page conversations. Then I signed up for their writers page. I participated in the discussions on the writers page, offered my perspective and got to know some other writers and Editors. Soon after joining, I was asked if I wanted to share one of my blog posts.

What the Good Men Project has meant for me is that they help me to live out my values of being creative, making a contribution to men and their mental health and mentoring other authors. Being a writer is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.

When they asked me to be a part of their new IndieGoGo campaign, I jumped at the chance to be a part of the project. Their goal is to encourage you and I to participate, to share our passions, and to support the conversation to grow even larger. What impresses me is that the growth they are reaching for is what never happens in our social media: real live conversations with other people.

I encourage you to check out the IndieGoGo campaign and share it. If you believe it is worthwhile, you may choose to donate. I feel this is a project that is worth my time and investment and I hope that you will consider sharing and supporting!

If you are looking for a place to share your writing, the Good Men Project may be a place for you. Or you may be wanting a different way to engage topics that are important to you, I encourage you to check out the Good Men Project. They have made a huge difference in my life, my writing and in being able to be a part of a growing conversation about what matters to men around the world.

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If you enjoyed this, you may want to check out some of my other writing:

Why Do I Write? I May Not Always Write Well, but I am Writing Myself Well

Camping and the Stories that Make Us

The Risks of Being a Rational, Distant Man

I write articles that talk about the kind of changes I am trying to make in my own life. I hope that my writing also helps you. My topics include addiction and mental health recovery, relationships, and personal growth. I work as an Addiction Therapist, an Editor for the Good Men Project and freelance writer, and Adjunct Professor at City University, Edmonton. But what is most important is that I have a family and I am in recovery from depression and anxiety. My mental health experiences are part of my personal University degree, but they do not define me.

I hope to inspire you, to inform you and on occasion to entertain you. But most of all, I want to connect with you. Sign up for my blog if you want to receive the latest and best of my writing. If you like what I have to say, please share my work with your friends.

Lastly, if you like my writing, you can click here to vote for my page on Psych Central’s list of mental health blogs.

Keep it Real

Photo by Jim Pennucci