About
As an addict myself I understand how hard it is to communicate these actual thoughts and feelings and how hard it has been for my loved ones to watch me struggle with addiction for most of my life.
Addiction was the catalyst that led to me spending time in prison, leaving a profound mark on me that was an extremely humbling experience, but it also giving me the opportunity to hit the reset button.
While in prison I joined a writing class, even though I wasn't very confident as I'd never written before, and I wasn't great at spelling or never really read much. The class taught me things I didn't know about myself, teaching me how to get things off my chest, things I'd ran away from for years, things I'd buried in my head, trying to ignore but truthfully I had been carrying the weight of them for years.
Writing and seeing them on paper helped me take that weight of my shoulders, helped me to face the demons, to deal with them rather than dragging them along with me into every situation and relationship, but more importantly it taught me how to communicate these feelings which I had never been able to do or explain before, which eventually transcended into other parts of my life, giving me the ability of talking about these thoughts and feelings to family, friends my son and my partner.
I finally felt like I wasn't trapped by these struggles on my own anymore, learning to communicate really has been life changing for me. My hope is that with this newsletter we can help others, realising that I wasn't alone, there are so many others out there affected by addiction that felt the same way, by learning to communicate and sharing my story, I wasn't just helping myself but it was also helping others.
Lead by Example
I decided to make our motto as lead by example for the personal reason that this featured massively for me and has been a daily thought and motivation for myself on my own journey.
I was sober for 8 years before I got a little to confident and made the mistake of picking up a beer again which very quickly escalated into another and another, followed by cigarettes, then weed onto any drug I could get my hand on and within a year and a half I’d thrown away all the hard work I had put in, in the previous 8 years, I lost my fitness business, my driving license and even my freedom by going to prison for 2 years.
During my 8 years of sobriety the main thing I concentrated on was my son who was 5 when I got sober. We had amazing times together building great memories for us both allowing me to be the dad I always wanted to be. He would have never remembered his dad not being sober and truthfully through those 8 years we never had any major issues and then he witnessed me fall, and fall hard.
I remember facing prison time and sitting him down to talk, for 8 years son our life has been the stuff of dreams for me and I have made a few mistakes that, unfortunately will impact us both, by choosing to pick up a drink again which I’m very sorry for, I have did something wrong, but I want you watch me and watch me closely because I am going to teach you one of the biggest lessons I ever can, I’ve made a mistake and it’s a big one, we all make mistakes through our lives and there is nothing wrong with making mistakes, I don't ever want you to be afraid of making mistakes because that's how you learn, my problem is I never learnt from my mistake quickly enough and I continued to make the same mistake over and over without trying to change something.
I want to show you that no matter how hard life gets or how low you ever get, there’s always a way back If you take it on the chin and accept your part, I want you to watch me and watch how I hold myself accountable for my mistake, how I come back stronger than ever, because you never give up, you get knocked down you get back up no matter how hard things seem you keep putting one foot in front of the other, you keep moving forward, you climb back up, don’t ever give up,
These are just words at the minute son but, I want you to watch how I now back them up with my actions, it’s not what we say it’s what we do that counts, it’s easy when life is going well but it is only really when your back is against the wall do you really get the opportunity to really show yourself and everyone around you what your made off, That's when we are at are best, you will face many challenges growing up and some may not be your fault but you can’t dwell on that, the only thing you can control is what you do.
From the second I said that to him I thought of it everyday, it never left me because I knew he would most likely follow my example, follow my footsteps rather than my words, I had to lead by example.
Why we are
anonymous
Anonymity is not about hiding. It is about safety, dignity, and honesty.
Many of the stories shared through Diary of an Addict are deeply personal. They involve addiction, recovery, relapse, family breakdown, grief, and moments people have never spoken aloud before. For those stories to be told truthfully, the writer must feel protected.
Anonymity removes fear.
Fear of judgement.
Fear of professional, legal, or social consequences.
Fear of being reduced to a label instead of heard as a human being.
By remaining anonymous, contributors are free to write honestly—without filtering their experience to make it acceptable or palatable. This allows the writing to be real, not performative.
Anonymity also protects others.
Stories of addiction rarely affect only one person. Keeping identities private helps prevent unintended harm to family members, friends, employers, and children who may be part of the story but have not consented to be named.
Most importantly, anonymity supports safety.
For some, being identifiable could place them at emotional, social, or physical risk. We will never ask someone to trade their wellbeing for visibility.
At Diary of an Addict, identity remains with the writer.
You choose how much of yourself to share.
You choose the name attached to your words.
You choose the boundaries.
We believe anonymity does not weaken truth—it protects it.
And when people feel safe, they write with honesty, depth, and courage.
That is why we are anonymous.