I completely replaced who I was. My entire life was about drugs and alcohol. It was literally all I spoke about. All I thought about. All of my hopes and dreams washed away and were replaced by what I thought was a “lifestyle choice.”
People see addicts in recovery as “a different sort of addict” to those who have not found recovery. This is invalidating and untrue.
David Gray-Hammond reviews Joshua Corwin’s poetry anthology, Becoming Vulnerable, a collection of poems documenting the experience of being an autistic addict and finding recovery.
David Gray-Hammond writes about the words he needed to hear as an active addict and sends a message: “It’s not your fault.”
When you’re autistic, it’s easy to begin to lean on alcohol or drugs to help buffer the sensory and social anxiety of group outings. David Gray-Hammond on being autistic and a recovered addict.
No one is talking about autism and addiction, so recovering addict and autistic self-advocate David Gray-Hammond is leading the charge and starting the conversation.
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