For nearly nine years I’ve spoken publicly about recovery, what it took, what it cost, what it gave back. Somewhere along the way, without quite noticing, I stopped being someone who’d recovered and became Recovery itself. The proof of it. And proof has to be maintained.
This episode started with a video from Lauren Kennedy West, who lives with schizoaffective disorder and documents her life with it honestly on YouTube. When her symptoms briefly returned after a long stable stretch, she asked a question that stopped me in my tracks: who am I when I’m not proving anything?
That question sent me back to a cold evening in Warsaw in early 2018, something I’ve never fully explained to anyone, and to a truth I don’t talk about much: being recovered and still carrying unfinished business aren’t in conflict. They’re just both true. Grace isn’t armour. It just makes you more honest.
You can watch Lauren’s channel, Living Well with Schizophrenia, where she shares the honesty that gave me permission for mine.
